The Quest for Power
by AreiaCananaid
Summary: When a shadow falls over Ninjago the ninja rise to the challenge, but this new darkness proves to be more than they bargained for. Even Garmadon, the Lord of evil, is at risk. A secret of Sensei Wu's past may hold the key to the truth. Kai struggles to come to terms with himself when an accidental slip up destroys the ninja team as they know it... (Full summary inside)
1. Circumstance

**A/N: **This story is a combined effort between me and my sister. We hope you like it! :)

**Summary: **When a shadow falls over Ninjago the ninja rise to the challenge, but this new darkness proves to be more than they bargained for. Even Garmadon, the lord of evil, is at risk. A secret of Sensei Wu's past may hold the key to the truth. Kai struggles to come to terms with himself when an accidental slip up destroys the ninja team as they know it and gives the new enemy the perfect bargaining chip. Can the mistakes of the past and present be amended in time to save the future? (Takes place in between the episodes Child's Play and Wrong Place Wrong Time.)

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**Chapter 1**

**Circumstance**

Kai stared miserably over the edge of the Destiny's Bounty as they plied their way through the early morning sky. If ever there was a case of things that were one constant shedding away to nothing more than a memory of blissful days - than this was it.

He had been trained as the ninja of fire tasked with the duty of protecting the destined Green Ninja and he no longer even possessed his legendary, weapon the fire sword that heightened his elemental power of fire. His Golden Weapon along with the other 3 weapons of power belonging to his friends Zane, Jay and Cole, his brothers bound by skill, duty and destiny, were now in the hand of the Dark Lord Garmadon. They had been transformed forever from their old forms as a sword, scythe, nunchucks, and shurikens and changed into a Mega Weapon. It was written in destiny that that Lord Garmadon's son, the Green Ninja, Lloyd would one day be locked in a battle that would ultimately decide the balance of the world.

Kai bit his lip, deep in thought. Just two days ago, because of Lord Garmadon and his Mega Weapon, that had the power to create anything, Lloyd had rapidly aged from a child to nearly his own age, as a teenager. Kai feared that this meant that the final battle would be coming even sooner than expected now.

"You need to stop worrying Kai," came his sister's voice from behind him.

"How do you know that I was worrying?" he asked turning to her perplexed.

"I grew up with you. I am well acquainted with your 'I'm bothered' face," she told him with a grin, patting his head.

He rolled his eyes and striated his newly flattened brown hair back into its usual spikes.

Nya laughed. Just then she was joined by Jay, his usual smile lighting up his face, "Wow you guys are up early. What are you doing?"

"Thinking mostly," Kai replied softly.

"Well quit thinking and get down to the bridge," Jay said his blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "Something's come up and Sensei wants you now."

"What?" Nya exclaimed and dashed toward the bridge, "Why didn't you mention anything sooner."

Jay's eyes followed his sister's steps with a love-struck expression on his face.

Kai rolled his eyes again and grasped Jay by the arm and followed his sister at a jog.

"Kai, Jay, Nya, about time you showed up," Cole teased.

"If you remember correctly I was here first," Jay said with a lopsided smile.

"Hush all of you," came the voice of Sensei Wu the ninja's master and mentor.

All four of them bowed respectfully, "Yes Sensei," they replied in unison.

"Lloyd kindly explain the situation," Sensei said stroking his goatee.

"While I was on watch I received an urgent call for help from Ninjago city's center. Apparently there is a large army of creatures threatening everyone in the main square. Pandemonium is everywhere and people are getting hurt," Lloyd explained.

Nya ran to the control panel and began to analyze the map. "We should arrive in about two minutes."

"Everyone prepare yourselves," Cole shouted.

"Yes, but for what," Zane interrupted. "Exactly who are the armed assailants? Are we dealing with the serpentine? Lord Garmadon? The skeleton army?"

"We do not know who they are," Sensei admitted. "Your falcon was able to get a fleeting image of the attackers before he was forced to flee. They look like no enemy we have ever before encountered, although, their armor does bare a slight similarity to that worn by the ancient armies long ago. Be careful ninja." He warned as they prepared to leave. "I have a terrible sense of darkness and warning."

As the ninja and Nya ran down the corridor of the landing ship Zane caught Kai's attention, his icy light blue eyes were troubled.

"Kai," he asked quietly as they ran, "I have hardy seen Sensei look so troubled and I too have a sense of growing darkness. What do you believe we are up against?"

"I'm not sure," Kai replied honestly, "but whoever or whatever they are, are going to get a run for their money. It's a figure of speech," he explained noting Zane's puzzled expression.

When they reached the city's square, they saw about two score of the marauders harassing the people and causing chaos. Nya had put on her samurai exo-suit and with Sensei left behind to guard the ship, they charged in to the streets. Kai raised his sword wishing that it was his fire sword instead of a simple katana and leaped into the fray. The odd warriors that they faced were trained fighters but they were not incredibly skilled. Kai swiped three of their feet while Cole knocked out several with his scythe and fists. Zane knocked down two with his shurikens and caught them deftly as they ricocheted off the foe, and another fell to a well aimed kick. Jay was fighting with the speed of a whirlwind and several fell before him. It was obvious that the enemy moral was shaken and when Nya arrived on the scene they fled.

The people started to cheer and Jay let out a shout of victory, but Kai was puzzled, "something's not right," he muttered.

"I agree," Cole replied. "That seemed way too easy."

Jay turned to face them, his expression worried.

"I believe this is not over," Zane said, "I sense something darker."

Kai's eyes widened as realization dawned on him, "Have any of you noticed Lloyd is missing?"

Nya gasped and the other three ninja looked around. Just then Lloyd came dashing out of an alley.

"Kai, Cole, Zane, Jay, Nya," he shouted, "help me! While you were fighting another group of invaders, captured Dareth and some of my friends from Darkly's Boarding School."

"It appears that the battle we fought was a diversion, my brothers," Zane said in a hushed voice.

"They have a head start but they're on foot, I'm sure we can catch them," Lloyd said gesturing towards the south east.

"Alright," Cole said taking charge, "Nya I want you to head back to the Bounty and inform Sensei of the development, Kai, Jay, Zane, Lloyd and I will follow after Dareth and the kids."

"You can join us later, sis," Kai said hurriedly noting her crestfallen expression.

Kai panted as he raced after the enemy. After three minutes they had caught sight of their quarry and now they were gaining. He watched as the troop of solders halted at a large warehouse like building and carried their struggling captives inside. He felt anger flare inside of him at the sight. What kind of scum would stoop so low as to capture children? True Lloyd's former classmates were annoying and they had caused a lot of trouble in the past but they had once helped to save him and his friend's life and had reformed mostly for the better. He could not forget about the foppish arrogant kind hearted karate teacher Dareth either, he was their friend. He had to save them.

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**Oh, cliffhanger! Please don't kill me! The next chapter will come out soon! Please review!**

**Question:**

**Who is your _least_ favorite person/snake/stone warrior in Ninjago?**


	2. Gathering Darkness

**A/N: **Well because of the positive feedback, insomnia, break and living in a fantasy land in our mind this chapter has come out faster than usual!

**Dissclaimer: **(Because I forgot iin the last chapter) **I do not own Ninjago, if I did I would still be making Ninjago episodes instead of legend of chima.**

**All The Time: **Thanks! We like to say 'If you are going to do something give it your all and strive for greater in the proses!'

**Mortal Draw: **Thank You!

**Fatal Strike: **Ooh, that's sweet! Thanks!

**Guest: **Yep, defiantly agree with you there!

**Guest:** Ah-ha! I have the advantage! If you kill me or my sister the rest of the story will not be fisished! And the rest of your life you will be wondering what happens next! HA!

**kokokringles: **Thank you! Oh, I just realized! Your pen-name is the chocolate bar on Nancy Drew that Sony (the guy who is obsessed with aliens(who you learn more about in The Tomb of the Lost Queen)) eats all the time! I feel reallly brilliant right now for seeing that conection! XP

**Ember21: **Got your attention, didn't we?

**You'llNeverKnow: **Well I have given you more!

**I always lie: **Poor Zane, what has he ever done to you? JK

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**Chapter 2**

**Gathering Darkness**

The ninja halted outside the open doors of the warehouse.

"We need a plan-" Cole started but was interrupted by several children's' screams from inside.

Kai watched Lloyd's facial expression change from shock to worry to furious anger in milliseconds. Kai well recognized the face and knew what Lloyd was going to do next.

"Wait," he tried, but Lloyd, with a furious cry of rage, charged headlong into the building. With a shrug Kai followed.

"What about a plan?" Jay yelled.

"Looks like we're knocking head instead," Cole said with a smile as he followed.

Zane followed Cole without a word and Jay with a "Wait for me," ran after.

When they were inside Kai saw Dareth and the children on a platform near the back. A dark masked figure was standing behind the captives and about sixty solders were poised in fighting position in front of them.

"Ninja Go!" Kai yelled as he threw himself against the enemy heedless of their numbers. Together he and his friends started carving themselves a path to their captured friends. It was obvious that even though they were outnumbered the enemy was clearly outmatched, soon only 30 remained standing. Just then the masked dark figure standing behind Dareth and the children spoke.

"Cease your hostilities and hear my terms or the children die," his voice was deep and slightly raspy. As he spoke several of his solders drew their swords and positioned themselves behind every captive and placed their blades at their prisoners' throats.

The ninja stopped their attack.

"What do you want," Kai asked darkly eyeing what he could see of this enemy levelly.

"That's better," the dark man said coldly. "It is so hard to speak terms when there is so much fighting going on. What do I want? That's simple: I want your surrender complete and unconditional. Tisk tisk," he told Cole silencing him with a gesture before he could speak, "I don't want you to think I'm unreasonable, because I'm not. Give yourselves up to me and I promise to release your friends."

"And if we should refuse?" Lloyd spat out vehemently.

"Well if you should refuse then I am afraid I would be left with no other choice then to slit all their throats."

"We can't trust him," Jay whispered, nervously running a hand through his short auburn hair.

"I do not believe we have a choice," Zane said his light blue grey eyes troubled.

Cole stepped forward and spoke, "release the kids and Dareth and then we will surrender."

"We will do it simultaneously," the dark helmeted man replied. "But first, I'll need you to drop your weapons."

The ninja reluctantly agreed and dropped their weapons.

Lloyd sighed angrily, "Why am I always getting tied up?" he muttered to himself. "Some things never change I suppose," he finished.

He was tied with a veritable cocoon of ropes and was suspended four feet above the ground upside-down. He was in a dark room and had no idea where his friends had been taken. In all truthfulness he knew that much of this mess was his own fault for rushing heedlessly into danger without a plan. A voice outside his door brought his attention back into focus. It was the voice of the dark mysterious cloaked and masked warrior who had captured them.

"I want information, but I would not trust myself to deal with the Green Ninja. So you take care of him and I will take the other four."

"Yes Lord," a snively voice sounded, "I'll make you proud. He will be begging to speak before I'm finished with him."

Lloyd's eyes widened with horror at the sound of this and the door opening.

One of the helmeted solders entered and walked toward him in a threatening manner. Lloyd swallowed hard which was slightly difficult because he was upside-down. The snivel voiced solder stopped directly in front of him and Lloyd prepared himself for something awful. The solder stuck his hand forward with a dark grimace, and pushed at Lloyd's chest causing him to swing lightly backwards.

"Tell me you secrets," he said in his whiny voice.

As Lloyd swung back towards him, he repeated the process. Repeating his request and pushing him back and forth with a finger pointed at his chest.

Lloyd nearly laughed with relief after two minutes of this; he had thought something worse than this was in store for him. After two more minutes however, he was not so relieved. He was annoyed and exasperated. Perhaps irritation was a viable torture method after all. He was almost considering telling secrets, but there was one problem with that, the annoying, irritating, horsefly of a solder had neglected to say what he wanted to know, which only made Lloyd even more annoyed. He tried to calm his mind and meditate, which was hard and annoying, but he vowed to say nothing, absolutely nothing.

~x~X~x~

Kai stared despondently at his three friends. They were in a long room like the store room of the warehouse. The only upside was that their captor had kept his word and set Dareth and the children free. He hoped that Dareth would find a way to tell Nya and Sensei what had happened. He sighed unhappily. He was chained by his neck and arms in a kneeling position. Cole was to his right, chained directly to the wall in a standing position by his arms and feet. Directly to the Kai's left was Zane, who was chained to a pole with a chain that wrapped around his torso and the pole. Jay was to Zane's left chained between two poles by his arms. Needless to say things were looking pretty bleak. For the ten minutes of their imprisonment they had been struggling to escape to no avail. Just then the door to their prison opened and the dark masked helmeted man who had captured them entered the room. He let out a disturbing chuckle.

"Capturing you turned out to be as I planned. Yes," he continued answering their unspoken question, "attacking Ninjago and capturing those kids was just an elaborate scheme to capture you five. You have information I need, as Sensei's little pets and the four guardians of the Green Ninja," he spat out the name like a curse, "you know what I want." He took off his helmet to reveal a dark evil face with glowing yellow eyes. He dramatically flung off his cloak to reveal four arms.

"Where are the Four Weapons of Destiny? Tell me now or regret it forever."

Kai felt his hazel-green eyes widen with horror filled surprise, this was the last thing he expected.

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**HAHA! Another Cliffhanger! Well maybe not... Hoped you liked it!**

**Question!**

**Do you watch legend of chima? And if you do, do you like it? And if you don't why not?**

(I don't watch it, I refuse! Watched the first episode and was disgusted. How could they make something so dumb!)


	3. Dark Development

**A/N:** *Gasp* Do your eyes decive you? No they don't! It's a chapter! Yay! I can't believe all the positive reviews! Thank you, they make me feel happy!

**ZaneWalker: **Yes, they will be tortured! Mwhahahahahaha ha ha ha...

**kokokringles: **Hehe, I feel so happy! Yeah, my sister would do the same XD

**I Always Lie: **Me too! I hope it dies! XP

**Guest: ***Smiles evilly and holds up lots of torches*

**You'llNeverKnow: **Mwhahaha poor ninja, *throws the flaming torches amputating Chima off the face of the earth*

**Mortal Draw: **I know! It is the best way!

**Guest: **Agree with you 100%

**Fatal Strike: **Insomnia is the best way to write stories! Haha, are you still regretting your decision?

**All The Time: **I try XP. Or is it? Yeah, it's been out since the final battle!

**JayceePhantom: **Thanks for beta-ing it! I like Dragons: Riders of Berk too! I think those comments are funny too!

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**Chapter 3**

**Dark Development**

"You can tell me the easy way or I can take a more drastic approach." The Dark Warrior said coolly.

Although the warrior shared some of the attributes of the dark lord Garmadon, this obviously wasn't him.

"What? No takers of the easy way?" He asked when all four of them held their silence.

Kai remembered Sensei's words of a rising darkness, and he knew that giving this dark creature any means of power, let alone the Mega Weapon, which all four elemental weapons had become, would be a catastrophe. This man, unlike Lord Garmadon, seemed to have no respect for life at all. It could spell out the death and suffering of thousands.

"So I take it you have all chosen the hard way," he sneered. "More fun for me this way anyway. Why don't we start with you Ninja of Lighting."

Jay's face paled visibly.

~x~X~x~

Nya gasped as a familiar brown haired brown eyed, brown clothed figure crashed into her.

"Dareth!" she exclaimed.

"Nya, thank heavens I found you. The ninja, they've been captured by the leader of the dark army that attacked us, they traded their lives for mine and the children. They were taken to a sort of warehouse at the edge of town."

Nya turned on her heel and ran a block back to the Destiny's Bounty, shouting Sensei's name when she was near enough.

When she explained what had happed, Sensei's face became as worried as she had ever seen it.

"I fear for the fate of the ninja," he explained, "if something were to happen to Lloyd the balance could be permanently thrown, not to mention the lives of Zane, Jay, Cole and Kai could be forfeit. We have to save them. Whatever this new threat is, I feel that the balance of the worlds in danger. Nya prepare my shot gun seat on your samurai suit."

~x~X~x~

Jay gave a nervous chuckle as the dark warrior drew nearer, "Could you, uh, not start with me? Don't get me wrong, I don't want you to start with any of my friends either. How about you just drop the matter entirely, we don't have the four weapons and we are not aware of their exact location."

"You're not lying," the dark warrior mused, "but you're not telling the whole truth either; we will soon find out what you're leaving out."

Kai watched as the dark warrior stood back and stared intently at Jay before moving in. He circled around him and whispered several things in his ear, Jay was about 30 feet away from Kai so he could not hear what the dark warrior was saying, but he knew it was nothing nice when he saw tears stream down Jay's normally cheerful face, hot angry tears. Jay's mouth twisted in a snarl. When Jay still didn't speak the dark warrior moved on to Zane.

Kai watched in horrified fascination as their captor created what appeared to be lighting in his hand and hit Zane in a particular spot, causing him to nearly short circuit, temporally paralyzing him. Kai became desperate; their opponent could somehow wield lightning like Jay. Kai could take no more of his friends suffering. He had to escape, they all had to escape.

Zane through it all made no sound whatsoever, refusing to speak at all. Kai's enemy was fifteen feet away from him and his attention was on Zane and not him. Kai got a desperate plan; he closed his eyes and tried to focus.

Ever since he lost his Fire Sword his elemental powers had nearly faded but if he concentrated hard perhaps… He struggled for a moment before he felt the familiar sense of heat pulse through him. He focused his limited power and managed to create hot licking flames in each hand. Nearly trembling with exertion, he began to focus the flames in each hand turning them nearly white hot. With a smile he tilted his hands towards the metal links of the chain that bound his neck and began to heat the links. When the chains themselves turned red hot, he began to pull downwards with his neck pulling the hot iron to its breaking point. With a soft clicking sound the chain gave way. As soon as his neck was free he turned his hands towards the chains that bound them. By now he was worn out and was not able to produce such hot flames and the size had gone down as well. He tried his best to keep the small fames concentrated and focused. After a couple minutes the metal links became red hot and he gently pulled on them trying to break them. They gradually grew thinner and thinner. He heard Cole grunting softly at his side and knew he was trying to free himself just as furiously and desperately as he was.

"If you continue to hold your silence Ninja of Ice, I will find a way to hack your main frame and steal your information weather you want it or not." Kai's attention shifted back to their captor when his enemy raised his voice.

When Zane still made no sound their enemy let out a cry of anger and struck Zane in the torso. The impact of his fist was accompanied by a clattering sound, like the shattering of glass. Kai noticed a faint smile grow across Zane's face.

The dark warrior did not notice the odd shattering sound; instead all his concentration was riveted on Kai, as he had caught sight, for the first time, of his red hot handy-work. With a furious grimace he stomped across the fifteen feet that separated them. Kai craned his neck upwards to see the tall dark form from his kneeling position.

'Oh dear,' he thought to himself, felling the color drain from his face.

"So young Fire Ninja," he growled as he stopped just a few feet in front of him, "you must think yourself terribly clever."

"You said it not me," Kai said with a snarky smile, trying not to show his discomfort and unease.

"I hate when my prisoners are clever and smart," he menaced.

"Why? Because you're not?" Kai replied scathingly.

"Simply because I find smart-mouths irksome, and you don't want to make me angry do you?"

"I don't want you be anything but away from me," Kai responded darkly.

"I am beginning to lose my patience with you Fire Ninja, but since you appear to be in a talkative mood perhaps with a little persuasion you will tell me what I want to know."

"I won't tell you anything."

"Not now perhaps, but I think you will soon be begging to tell me." He stepped back and smiled, "So your element is the one of fire, and I can tell, by you attempted escape methods that you like to use it," his voice grew cold and threatening, his eyes seemed to darken as he spoke on, "I like fire too, you'd be surprised how much information you can get with such a little amount."

With a wicked sneer he lunged towards Kai and seized his left hand. Kai's eyes widened in pain as the hand of his enemy generated fire just as it had lighting a few moments ago. Kai managed to stifle an outcry of pain, but a soft whimper escaped his lips. The dark warrior stepped back laughing, Kai's hand throbbed and stung where it had been burned, his hand and about 3 inches up his up his wrist as well. He gritted his teeth against the pain, but his eyes were riveted on his captor in horrified fascination.

"How is that mouth of yours now?" his captor menaced.

"Still smart," Kai managed to gasp defiantly.

"You four are pathetic, you are weak, each of you so proud with your skill in mastering one of the elements. The secret of all four elements are not unknown to me."

He seemed to be reveling in Kai's shock. He spread his four arms wide. In one hand he created a flame in another, electricity cracked over fingers, another hand became sheathed in ice, and he gestured with his last remaining fist, creating a small crack in the ground.

Kai knew the attention of his friends was riveted on their captor. Their captor fully aware of this, laughed darkly. His gleeful burst of joy however was cut short by a resounding crash and the sounds of yelling and fighting. It became obvious by the sound that his fortress was under attack. Their enemy's eyes grew wide with surprised anger and he ran out of the room. As he left he gave the ninja a final menacing glare and shut and locked the heavy door behind him.

As soon as he was gone Kai, with a furious burst of effort, snapped the weakened chains that bound his arms. At the same time Cole broke free from the wall with some help from what was left of his earth-bending. Kai and Coe ran to Zane and Jay's aid only to find that they too were free.

"How did you?" Kai started.

"I froze the lock that bound me while I was being interrogated," Zane said with a smile. "Then I goaded him into punching me. The force of his bow shattered the locking mechanism allowing me to escape," he explained as they ran for the door.

"What about me?" Jay protested, "Don't you want to know how I escaped?"

"Not really," Cole teased, as he searched for a weakness in the door, but he did shoot Jay a sympathetic glance at the sight of his friend's pale face.

"I'm going to tell you anyway. I used the little of my lightning that I had left to statically charge a little metal pin that was laying on the ground near my feet. I was then able to maneuver it to one of my locks by giving it the same charge and, with a little zap, managed to pick the lock. Although I did kind of accidentally shock myself n the process," he admitted with a smile as they all combined forces on the door and broke free.

"I think I heard Nya and Sensei," Kai said as they ran, gritting his teeth against the pain in his hand. "They must have come to rescue us."

As they bolted down the warehouse hallway, Lloyd burst though one of the doors and wordlessly joined their charge, spitting out rope fragments as they ran.

Soon all five emerged in the large warehouse center to see a huge hole broken through the ceiling. Nya, in her exo-suit, and Sensei were just below this opening and were fighting hoards of the dark warrior's minions.

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**Did you like it? Hate me for the cliffhanger XP. You know, if you review, the next chapter will come out faster... Just sayin'**

**QUESTION:**

**Who's your favorite charater in Ninjago?**


	4. Deeper Trouble

**A/N:** And now finally, one of the chapters you have all most likely been waiting for, in terms of revealing Kai's slip-up. That is, if I have done my job of summary writer well :) My inspiration for this chapter was the idea of not all plans going according to plan, and what happens when circumstance flies out of one's control.

**xXx skytale xXx**- Thanks for the reviews, *poke* Ok, ok, I surrender I'm going to spill the secretes of the next chapter.

** Rockslide**- Can't tell you (spoilers) but you'll find out if you read this chapter.

**Fatal Strike**- Maybe Cole isn't as luck as you think *cough* *cough* *spoiler* *cough*

**Mortal draw**- I agree with you about Kai ;P

**17blanceri**- thank you and I agree with you about characters getting their limits tested, it makes for a better story. Good luck with that annoying sibling of yours.

Also thank you to, **ZaneWalker**, **webchow**, **Master Derpy**, **kokokringles**, and **WaterNinja134**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Deeper Trouble**

The five ninja battled their way to Nya and Sensei Wu's side. They stood in a circle in the center of the midst of the dark warriors, back to back under the hole in the roof defending against the press of enemies.

"There are too any of them," Sensei Wu yelled over the tumult, "We need to find a way to get out of here now!"

"All of you get onto my exo-suit," Nya yelled. "We will blast through the hole in the roof."

"Are you sure it can hold all our weight?" Jay asked worriedly, "I mean you never got a chance to refuel it completely from your last mission."

"No," Nya yelled back. "But I don't see any other option at the moment. I can give everyone a better chance if I eject myself and fly separately on my jet-pack. I can take one other person with me. Sensei, hang on to me!"

The ninja leaped onto Nya's exo-suit and she started the launch sequence. She ejected grabbing hold of Sensei Wu as they flew. Her ascent was slower and more unstable than usual because of the extra weight, but she and Sensei Wu made it through the hole in the high ceiling of the warehouse.

If her progress was slow the five ninja's progress was painful. They slowly rose off the ground, the engines straining. Foot by slow foot they gradually made their ascent, whilst having to defend against the faster warriors who tried to stop them. After several tense and terrified heartbeats they were halfway to their escape. It was then that the four armed dark warrior appeared on the scene. He had with him a catapult like canon. He loaded a large iron ball after lighting it on fire and electrifying it. He took aim and fired.

"No one escapes me!" he yelled furiously.

The sparking fireball sped towards them in a perfect arching line. The force of the impact shook Nya's exo-suit violently its engines gave out and it plummeted. Just before they reached the ground the engines managed to kick back in. The jolt from the impact of the canon and the jolt from the restarting engines threw the ninja. Zane and Lloyd were in the middle of free falling when the exo-suit shot back up and they crashed headfirst into the cockpit. Jay, Kai and Cole were thrown to the left as it regained power. Jay managed to grab hold of a chink in Nya's armor and Kai latched on to Jay's leg with his right hand. As he did so he saw Cole fly past him as he plummeted towards the ground too far away from the exo-suit to try and save himself. Cole flung out his hand and Kai reached out with his left hand and they just managed to clasp. Kai could not hold back a cry of agony as Cole's full weight jerked on his injured hand. It felt as if his hand was being ripped to shreds. He grunted with pain as he tried to hold Cole up. The exo-suit resumed its laborious ascent upward and their enemy prepared another missile. Cole's brown eyes were huge and pleading as if he were silently begging Kai not to let him fall.

"I won't let you fall, I won't let you fall," Kai said to himself, through his pain, but his injured hand seemed to have other ideas. It began trebling uncontrollably from the trauma and it was compromising his grip. He strove desperately to keep his hold but Cole was slipping. They had almost made it to the half way point again when another missile flew towards them. It nearly missed but grazed the exo-suits shoulder armor. The following jolt proved to be too much for Kai's burned hand. With a gasp of pain he lost his grip. He tried to regain it and for a terrifying moment Cole hung from his fingertips.

"No, no, no," Kai grunted. Cole was slipping and there was nothing he could do. He lost contact and Cole fell, hurtling towards the ground and the dark warriors far below. His dark hair billowed around him, his mouth open in a yell of dismay, his eyes riveted on Kai.

"Cole!" Kai screamed.

When Cole's added weight left the exo-suit the samurai armor shot upwards at a relatively quick rate. Cole's falling figure and the warehouse soon shot far behind.

"No," Kai whispered.

Just previous to their rapid burst of speed, the leader of the dark warriors had fired another of his missiles but the exo-suit's sudden ascent caused him to miss his mark. His sparking ball collided with the back wall of the warehouse, causing it to collapse and burst into flame.

Kai watched the flames and destruction in complete shock as the exo-suit sped to safety. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for Kai, his eyes remained fixed on the warehouse and then on the general direction of the warehouse when it was too far away to see anymore.

It ran out of power near the mesa like badlands. Nya had obviously rightly judged the distance that her suit could travel and she and Sensei were waiting for them.

"There you are," Nya exclaimed happily. "I had worried you wouldn't make it. I guess all the weight slowed you down, huh? I've signaled Dareth and he is bringing the Destiny's Bounty for us. He should be here soon then we can make plans."

Kai who had been trying to speak the whole time his sister had been speaking was interrupted again, this time by Sensei Wu. Nothing remained hidden from his sharp keen eyes.

"Where is Cole?"

"Where _is_ Cole?" all the ninja except for Kai echoed as they looked among themselves.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Kai yelled in angry desperation. "He was depending on me to hold him up, when we nearly fell, and I let go," he finished, his voice quite and breaking.

Kai had never seen his friends' faces so angry, so horrified, so pained. It was his fault; he knew it was his fault.

Jay turned on him, "I was supporting the both of you and you could not even hold Cole?" he questioned angrily.

"You dropped him," Nya and Zane whispered in simultaneous disbelief.

"But the building blew up, I saw it, and besides that there was an entire army on the ground not to mention that dark monster," Lloyd said angrily.

"I know," Kai whispered helplessly. He started to back away.

"Kai stop," Sensei commanded as he looked at him with keen perception. "Let me see you left hand."

Kai held out his damaged hand.

Realization, gasps, and utterances of pity and understanding replaced the anger of a few seconds ago

"Kai," Nya whispered as she headed over and gently took his hand. Kai folded to the ground

"I tried to hold on but…" he closed his mouth as his ninja family huddled around him. Their newly sympathetic attitudes made him feel worse than he had felt when they were angry. He didn't want pity. He was too furious with himself.

The sound of the Destiny's Bounty's engines met his ears and the sailing ship landed beside them.

* * *

**How did you like it? Are you mad at me for ending it so soon? **

**QUESTION:**

**If you were one of the Elemental Ninja, which element would you have? (Either Fire, Earth, Ice or Lighting)**


	5. Plan of Attack

Here is the resolution to the cliffhanger of last week pertaining to Cole. It is written in the perspective of Cole and the evil bad guy. Before you throw a conniption and destroy your computer in a rage when you find out how short this chapter is, allow me to promise that I will put the next chapter in a day or two, I have written two this week and I just need to run through the next one more time.

**17blanceri**- Thank you for your review. Don't worry I am not going to go easy on the poor ninja. It was a tad bit rushed but I needed them to escape last chapter for my plot to go as plan. Bear in mind that it is far from over, and not everyone had an easy escape :)

**Guest**- Don't worry Cole is alive (for now that is: )

**xXx skytale xXx**- Thanks, I'm glad to hear I successfully glued your eyes to the page. (it was my evil plan, you see). Oh, I must know, are you named after the cipher? The one where you have strips of letters that wrap around a cylinder to make a message?

**Iheartninjago2010**- Thank you and I'm glad you found it and like it, that makes me happy. Cool story idea, I like it.

Thank you to **ZaneWalker**, and **Ninjago4Ever.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Plan of Attack**

Cole watched as his friends burst through the hole in the ceiling to freedom. He checked his fall and landed upright and catlike. He used his small remaining earth-bending to soften his fall by making the earth bowl as he landed to make it more pliant. As soon as he hit the ground he rolled forward, leaping to his feet.

Just as he stood a resounding crash, followed by an explosion, nearly knocked him off his feet. The far side wall of the building collapsed and the rest burst into licking flames. The soldiers who had been preparing to attack him scattered in terror and tried to escape the burning building.

"This is a fine mess I've fallen into, left in the midst of a hoard of enemies, but hey it could be even worse," he muttered to himself.

Thinking quickly he grabbed the helmet of a fallen warrior and jammed it onto his head. He tried to lose himself in the hoard of enemies fleeing to safety. He made it out of the flaming building and ran down the streets on Ninjago City side by side with the enemy. He could tell by their direction of travel that they were headed towards the badlands.

Cole nearly sighed with relief; the bad guys were too worried with their own safety to pay him any mind and their leader appeared to be nowhere in sight. He started inching his way through the mass of running warriors, squirming to the left, intending to dart into a side alley and make his escape.

"Come on, Come On, almost there…" he whispered.

The four armed Dark leader, Kudzu, looked at his shambled plans in furious anger. His prisoners had escaped and he had not gotten what he wanted. With a furious grimace he ran after his retreating army grabbing an odd looking crossbow as he went.

He had only one small hope left and this gave him the strength he needed for a furious burst of speed. He had seen one of the ninja fall, the dark clothed Ninja of Earth. Unfortunately; his ninja suit was nearly the same color as his warriors' armor and Kudzu had completely lost sight of him.

'Darn him being a ninja,' he thought to himself furiously. They were trained in the arts of stealth. He himself had been trained thus. What would he do if he were in the earth ninja's place? How would he hide? Surely not in a burning building. His yellow eyes fell on a fallen helmet and he knew. He urged his running legs to a faster pace as he caught up to his fleeing army. He carefully searched the backs of every one of his retreating warriors. The sun came out and glittered on a golden dragon symbol embroidered on the back of one of the soldiers. Kudzu smiled as he brought his odd crossbow into firing position and loaded an iron mesh net between the two firing mechanisms. He electrocuted the net with a laugh. Sighting through the metal loop at the top he took aim and pulled the release pin.

His quarry saw the sparking net headed towards him at the last moment and tried to sidestep but it was too late. With a pained yell he lunged forward and tumbled to the ground unconscious.

Still laughing, Kudzu jogged over to the prone figure and picked up the mesh net that surrounded his prisoner. Without so much as a grunt of exertion, he slung the net lightly over his shoulder. He followed his retreating soldiers to their emergency rally point near the edge of the badlands next to the only bridge across the great gorge of Ninjago.

Once he reached their rally point two of his soldiers that he had sent on a scouting mission earlier that morning met him and bowed.

"Sir," they saluted, "we found you a prisoner, a serpentine, just like you asked."

"Excellent," Kudzu replied.

A terrified Fangpire was thrust before him. Kudzu un-slung the net, which contained the unconscious Cole, from his back and unceremoniously dumped it by his feet. The Fangpire's eyes widened in horror. His reptilian face paled as he viewed the unconscious, captured form of his formally undefeatable opponent.

"I need some information," Kudzu sneered enjoying the Serpentine's terrified face.

"I'll tell you anything you want," the unfortunate snake whimpered glancing at Cole.

"I have been having problems getting the ninja to talk but perhaps you, being their enemy, might know what I want."

An hour later a wickedly happy Kudzu had reached his secrete fortress in the middle of the badlands that acted like his base. It was about forty miles from Ninjago city. Everything was working according to plan, even better in all actuality,' he thought with a smile. He had learned, from the unfortunate serpentine, that lord Garmadon had the four weapons and had re-forged them into the master weapon of destiny. The only problem for him would be obtaining it. Lord Garmadon commanded the serpentine and although the serpentine army was smaller in size than his own he was reluctant to ask for a pitched battle especially if Lord Garmadon knew how to use the Mega Weapon to its fullest potential.

He smiled to himself as he looked into the defiant brown eyes of his recently awakened prisoner. He did not have to worry about getting what he wanted now that he had the perfect bargaining chip.

"Soldier, escort the ninja of earth to the prison shed."

Five of his men hustled a struggling metal net encased Cole towards the center of camp.

* * *

**So did you like it? Are youdrying to know what happens next? Well to bad! You will just have to wait! :D**

**QUESTION:**

**If you could have one of the Golden Weapons, which one would it be?**


	6. Forgotten Past

Here it is! The other chapter you have all probably/hopefully been waiting for, as you can probably tell by the title, this is the chapter that delves into the secret of sensei's past. It is time for the infamous back-story. Mwa ha ha.

**17blanceri-** thank you for your compliment, it made me very happy. As the saying goes "great minds think alike," ha ha he he (evil laughter) )

**xXx skytale xXx-** Cole does deserve better than that, but if I tell you any more it would be considered spoilers . Yes, I feel so smart right now *arrogantly applauds for myself* JK :)

**Kokokringles-** You are absolutely right about that! They should be ashamed of themselves XD

**Ninjagosbiggestfan-** I am grateful to you for your correction because I always like to know when I have made a mistake so I can fix it. After all, it is positively rude to leave mistakes in my finished work. However, in this case I purposely spelled his name Kudzu because he is not the stone warrior but an OC of mine. I know it is really close in both spelling and description and this is compounded by the fact that I have not, until now, given his back-story. So sorry for the confusion, but hopefully this chapter will clear things up. I picked the Name Kudzu because kudzu is a rather evil plant that tries to take over entire countryside's (blame my biology teacher for teaching it to us and quizzing us on it :P). It kills all crops and native plants that stand in its way and it is nearly impossible to stop because it spreads so fast. (A parallel to my bad guys character and I could not resist.) Thank you so much for your time and comments, they are very appreciated :} *dopy grin* The shurikens of ice are pretty cool.

**Iheartninjago2012-** Thank you and I agree with you about the sword, out of all the weapons it is the one I am most familiar with, nunchucks are super hard in my opinion and I personally have still yet to master throwing stars let alone shurikens. Regretfully, I have never tried to use a scythe, though I wish I have (for Cole's sake) :D

- Thank you! Poor Cole and Kai are in a bit of a mess.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Forgotten Past**

Kai sat at the table inside the destiny's bounty as Nya cleaned and dressed the wound on his hand and wrist. Kai gritted his teeth as she secured the bandage. She had put on a salve to accelerate the healing and keep the burn moist while it healed, and it was feeling a lot better. He had refused to have it tended until he and the other three had gone back to the burned down warehouse to search for Cole. There was no sign of ether Cole or the enemy anywhere and no one had been able to give them any clear direction.

When they returned to their ship Sensei told them that their only option was patience. There was hardly anything that Kai hated more than being patient when the stakes were high. Jay had been filling Sensei in on what happened with Lloyd interrupting every now and then to tell his part.

"Then he pushed me a bit too hard," Lloyd was saying, "and I through my weight forward along with his forceful push to make my return swing even more forceful, and when I swung forward I knocked my head into my interrogator's head and knocked him out. I suppose you could say my head was harder. Then I chewed my way through the rope."

Jay took up the story again and when he got to the part where the four armed warrior had been able to use all four elements Sensei's already troubled face darkened further. His old face was twisted in an unpleasant memory or thought.

"What is it Sensei?" Zane asked quietly.

"Earlier today I thought that I sensed a dark presence that I thought was dead. At the time I didn't believe my own sense, thinking it to be impossible. Unfortunately, if what you told me is true, then I afraid there can be no doubt."

"You know who attacked us?" Jay asked incredulously.

"If I am right then his name is Kudzu," Sensei sighed. "Long ago, when I was much younger, I became aware of the prophecy of the green ninja. I had not found the four protectors yet, because I had no idea that they existed then, but I thought I had found the chosen one, the green ninja, and in fact I had."

"You mean Lloyd wasn't always destined to be the one?" Jay exclaimed confused.

"Please no interruptions," Sensei chided.

"Sorry."

"As I was saying long ago Kudzu was supposed to be the green ninja. He was thirteen when I found him and already had a slight ability to manipulate the four elements. Knowing the balance of the world would soon be at stake, I took it upon myself to train him. But from the very start he was just well, off. He was as arrogant and reckless as Kai can be, as cold and as distant as Zane sometimes, as unwilling to listen and slow down as Jay can be, and as stubborn and unyielding a Cole on a bad day, and he had all your anger. But, unlike you four, he did not poses the balancing qualities of your characters the things that make you great, capacity for action, passion, bravery, cool-headedness understanding, leadership, compassion, and respect, to name just a few. I suppose that I too possessed a certain arrogance because I thought that I was sufficient to change him. I thought that my wisdom could pass to him. He grew to be a powerful fighter but he refused to listen he had no respect for anyone other than himself and the people he revered out of fear because he believed their skill to be greater than his own." Sensei paused for a moment.

"Well what happened?" Kai and Zane asked in unison.

"On the day he turned eighteen we were summoned to a small village where an ancient scroll had been found. It was rumored to contain untold power. He and I went to search it out and take it before anyone allied with the dark could find it."

"Unfortunately my brother got word of this about the same time as we did and we arrived at the cave that held the scroll on the mountain, over the little village, almost simultaneously. I tried to hold off Garmadon and told Kudzu to retrieve the scroll."

"My battle with Garmadon triggered an age old booby trap meant to protect the scroll. The booby trap, if it was not dismantled, would trigger a rockslide and destroy the small village below us as well as the cave that held the scroll. Kudzu was the only one close enough to dismantle the booby trap in time but even he could only divert half of the landslide. It was then that my young apprentice had to make a choice, he could either save the people and lose the scroll and all the power it contained or he could take the scroll at the cost of many lives. I told him to help the people and forget the scroll, I begged him to make the right choice but Kudzu's mind was not filled with my advice or anything I had tried to teach him."

"Destiny is a strange thing it intertwines and weaves the tale of our lives and others. Every choice we make leads to different paths. Although Kudzu did not know it he was at the crossroads of his fate, the choice he made would determine the outcome of the future. Instead of trying to save the people, Kudzu let his lust for power get the better of him. He took the scroll and the village was destroyed by the avalanche. At the very moment Kudzu let the darkness overpower the light in his heart his destiny to become the chosen one was thrust aside. He still had his elemental powers, but they diminished and all the power of the first spinjitzu master that could have been his was lost to him forever."

"To make matters even worse for him he forgot, or never really realized that not all power is in magic, dominion, and skill, some power is knowledge itself, which was the only power that the scroll contained. All the scroll held was the prophecy of the four ninja who were chosen to each wield one of the elements, and the prophecy that once they were found, the green ninja would rise. He had sacrificed his destiny for power, that turned out only to be knowledge, and that knowledge that only served to write him out of greatness. If he had left the scroll that knowledge of would have been lost and who knows, the world might have been different, perhaps he could have remained as the green ninja. It was almost as if fate had left a trap to test him and he failed.

"When he read the contents of the scroll he became angry. He lit it on fire and threw it from himself. My brother thinking the scroll was lost, destroyed by Kudzu, charged my apprentice in a rage. They fought on the high cliffs of the mountain. While they battled I managed to retrieve the scroll from the rocks where he threw it before it burned completely and save it. Kudzu and Garmadon's battle rage was so great that, locked in combat, they both fell off the cliff. Garmadon managed to catch a crag but Kudzu fell. I never saw him again. It was not long after this that Garmadon and I were locked in our own duel to the death when I defeated him and banished him to the underworld. I had assumed that Kudzu had perished, but judging by what happened today, he somehow survived. Even worse, he managed to find access to the void dark reaches of the world and obtained the power to posses the Mega Weapon. He is probably under the impression that if he finds the Mega Weapon he could regain the power he lost. By now all the good had been crushed from his soul. He does not even posses the respect for life like Garmadon. He is a ruthless heartless warrior who will do anything to achieve his own ends, and now he has Cole." Sensei finished quietly.

When he finished speaking the room was completely silent. For a long moment no one dared to speak, all their eyes were riveted on Sensei Wu in horror.

* * *

**Boom! Didn't see that coming, did ya? Or maybe you did... :P**

**QUESTION:**

**Which of the four elemental dragons would you choose? Flame, Rocky, Shard or Whisp?**


	7. Unyielding Circumstance

**A/N **Next chapter is up! The idea of trying something even though there is a huge chance of failure and consequence just because the result is worth the risk is my inspiration this week.

**17blanceri-** Thank you for your review Melody ;) My name is Kazi you may call me… Kazi :P and weirder things have happened. I once spent a week figuring out a cool name for my bad-guys evil order in one of my books, just to find the next day, in the new release section of a bookstore, that someone else had beat me to it, they were even described the same 0_o. Those were some great cookies; your brother is an excellent cook, except for the slight paper and ink aftertaste -Jk. And as for your mental state, I believe that creativity (and bravery) is just insanity with a beneficial purpose.

**Iheartninjago2010- **I'm glad I was not being predictable. Thank you! I like Flame too.

**Ninjagosbiggestfan-** No worries it all good; I appreciate your feedback immensely. Rocky is super cute I love him too.

**Guest-** Oh, my bad, I missed that in my run through, thank you for pointing that out, my humblest apologies. :D yes Cole is in big trouble, but Kudzu can't kill him yet because he needs him for something.

Also thank you to, **xXx skytale xXx, pancakez, **and **ZaneWalker** for your support! :)

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Unyielding Circumstance**

"That is one of the most terrible stories I have ever heard," Jay whispered breaking the oppressive silence. The rest of them nodded in agreement.

Sensei sighed, "As I have said before, there is nothing that can be done to change the past."

"Unless Garmadon could somehow use the Mega Weapon to somehow turn back time," Jay teased.

At his comment Sensei's face became thoughtful, "If you'll excuse me I would like to meditate."

The ninja and Nya nodded and Sensei left the room.

"What are we going to do?" Kai exclaimed miserably. "The last thing we needed was yet another enemy that Sensei has a personal attachment to."

Zane nodded in agreement and Jay slumped in his seat.

Kai let out all his pent up frustration and guilt in a growling cry of anger. "Why wasn't I strong enough? Why couldn't I hold him? If what Sensei said is true, than Cole is in terrible danger. If Kudzu has him then it is my fault."

Nya came up behind him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "No one is all powerful Kai."

He snorted in disgust, "I know that. I only wish I could have been more perfect when Cole needed it."

"What I'm trying to say is you did everything you could, no one could ever ask for more than that."

"Except me," Kai complained

"I am just as much to blame as you are," Lloyd interrupted, "I was the one who got us all captured in the first place."

Zane who had remained silent this entire time finally spoke. "Instead of focusing on the past and what we could have done or what could have happened, perhaps we should look to the future and figure out what to do about it."

"What should we do Zane?" they all asked in unison looking directly at their white clad brother.

"I did not say that I had all the answers," he protested running a hand through his platinum blond hair. "All I know is that we have to find a way to find and rescue Cole."

"Seriously, does anyone had any ideas of how to that exactly?" Jay demanded. "We don't even know for sure that Kudzu has him. I mean he could be hiding somewhere waiting for the perfect chance to slip away and find us couldn't he?"

Their contemplation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Kai got up to answer it and saw that it was the mailman and his trusty bicycle. "Here," he gasped handing Kai a package. "Don't blame me if it is something nasty," he warned looking scared, "One of those horrible warriors you saved the city from this morning gave it to me to give to you." With that he turned to leave.

Kai, throwing caution to the wind, tore open the package. His heart sank at what he saw. In the bottom of the box lay a torn piece of black fabric with the dragon symbol of earth embroidered in gold thread on the back. It was part of Cole's ninja uniform, from the back of his shirt to be precise. Alongside the scrap of fabric lay Cole's shoulder pads and leather sheath. Under these was a letter. As Kai unfolded the piece of parchment to read it, he felt his face darken in rage.

"Don't burn that until I get a chance to see it," Jay chided snatching the paper away from Kai.

"What does it say," Nya asked.

"It says that that we must deliver Garmadon's Mega Weapon to Kudzu in exactly three days or he will kill Cole and worse. He wants to use the spot in between the badlands near the foothills of the frozen mountains as an exchange site. He wants to trade the Mega Weapon for Cole."

Nya's face paled in horror, "Oh Cole, no," she whispered

Zane's face contorted in an expression of rage, "if he hurts Cole, or so much as lays a finger on my brother, I'll-."

"I'll go get Sensei," Lloyd interrupted running from the room.

"Ok Kai now you can burn it," Jay said angrily as he tossed the ransom note back towards Kai.

Kai held it loosely in his right hand, his eyes riveted on his bandaged left one. The thought of Cole in the possession of such a monster made him shudder. Strong defiant steadfast, sarcastically funny, kind, loyal, Cole was his partner and his friend. Cole had always been there for him and had led their ninja team to many victories with his quick understanding and effective strategies. But he was more than that, he was part of Kai's family. It was a family that had once been shattered, but re-forged into a stronger whole by his ninja friends and teacher. His new family would never be complete without Cole in it; he loved him like a brother. When they met, the first thing that Cole said to him was, 'I've got your back,' Kai had thought that the feeling or rather promise was mutual, but this time he had proved himself to be the weak link of the chain.

'I am so sorry I failed you Cole,' he whispered to himself.

~x~X~x~

Cole grunted, trying to resist as he was shoved toward a shack that look as if it had once been someone's single home, as if someone had once tried to settle in this desert a long time ago. Cole growled quietly as he scrutinized his would be prison, although it looked to be old it was plainly very sturdy.

The dark leader, who called himself Kudzu, had a small sort of fortress like structure in the middle of his camp. All his soldiers had tents set up around his small fort. There were tall wooden guard towers dotted around the enemy camp manned by two soldiers each, not to mention the guards posted everywhere. Kudzu's camp had the added bonus of being in the middle of the mesa where no one would ever think to look. Cole dug his feet into the dirt as the foot thick wooden door to the prison shack was opened. He put up a spirited resistance but the cumbersome net combined with the force of the seven guards proved to be enough to force him inside. He fell to the ground with a thud and the door slammed and locked behind him. The floor and walls of his prison were solid oak and the walls appeared to be as thick as the door.

It was a wooden prison, the worse possible place for an earthbender. Wood was not earth so his fading elemental power would be of little use to him. If he still had his scythe he could reach his true potential and break free, but that was impossible for him now. The room was completely bare except for a long thin table that he assumed served as a bed. The room was about ten paces across and wide.

His first task, he decided, would be to disentangle himself from the engulfing metal net. It had not been completely secured and after a time of studying it, he assumed it worked the same way as a constricti's tail or the training nets on the Destiny's Bounty. One had to relax and then slowly wriggle out. At the thought of the Destiny's Bounty and his friends he closed his eyes miserably.

'He had defiantly been graced with all the luck today,' he thought to himself sarcastically.

He had become so used to being with his ninja family that he loathed the thought of being in this miserable predicament alone. He blamed nothing but unfortunate circumstance for his situation. He understood Lloyd's anger and he had seen the mess that Kai's hand had been in. In all actuality he had been surprised that Kai had been able to hang on as long as he did.

He only wished that he had been strong enough to escape when he had the chance. He knew that his being captured only served to give Kudzu the upper hand, so in a way he felt slightly responsible for letting his team down. Unfortunately felling miserable for himself and his predicament was not going to get himself out of the mess he was in. Pursing his lips he began to search his prison for a weak spot. Kudzu was either going to use him as a bargaining chip for some dark end or try to get more information out of him, the mere thought of that made him shudder and served to heighten his determination.

Scanning the room he spotted a tiny window near the roof it was small but he knew he could fit through it. It was only made of glass and there was no failsafe in place to keep him from breaking it. He smiled as he headed over to the table and moved it towards the window. If he stood on it he could just reach the window. The sun would be setting soon and he decided that would be when he would make his move.

About four hours after dark, Cole set to work using the latch of his belt buckle to chip a small hole through the window. He then began to laboriously but quietly chip away pieces of glass form the opening to enlarge it. He did this slowly and quietly because he knew that any loud sound would doom him completely.

About two hours before dawn he had made an opening just wide enough for himself to squeeze through. The easy part was over he knew, his next challenge would be to sneak out of the enemy camp, with all its guards and watch towers then he would have to find his way back to Ninjago city.

He slowly began to ease himself out of the window. Once he had his head out, he carefully scanned the darkness for any trouble. The night was as black as pitch. He could hardly see anything past fifteen feet in either direction, but he did not see any guards in the near vicinity. He let out his breath. Slowly and he silently began to ease himself out further. Perhaps it was the dark of the night or perhaps it was his nerves but something was making him feel uneasy. The unnerving sensation that someone was watching was making his heart race faster and the night seem all the more eerie.

He was nearly though the window when his ripped shirt caught on a shard of broken glass protruding from the window if he pulled hard it could snag his shirt further and shatter the remaining glass of the window, a sound he did not need. He slowly backed up and tried again. This time he made it through. He performed a half turn and he landed softly in the sand. He straightened and moved stealthily forward. He had not gone more than two steps when he froze in his tracks, a cold sweat beading his brow. He heard an unpleasantly familiar voice slice through all his dreams of freedom.

"Going somewhere are we?" Kudzu sneered.

Cole turned around to see Kudzu sitting on the roof of his prison. He stood up as Cole turned towards him.

"Trying to escape?"

Cole gritted his teeth, "I should think it's obvious."

Kudzu smiled darkly as he leaped down to land lightly beside Cole. "Not short of nerve I see, earth ninja, but even the toughest rocks of the world are not completely impenetrable, even the hardest stone can break. You see Cole, I consider myself to be quite amiable in normal circumstances."

"You consider hurting my friends being amiable? Well if that's true then I assume you would take it kindly if I attacked you; that's great, it will make me feel a lot less guilty about it." Cole mocked threateningly.

"Not quite as much of a smart mouth as the fire ninja but still rude, resignedly sarcastic I see. I don't take kindly to backtalk, but it is forgivable. However, there is one thing I cannot tolerate and that is insubordination. Escaping, my dear Cole, counts as insubordination. I despise defiance and there is almost no better way to show defiance than escaping." Kudzu's dark smile was gone and had been replaced by a cold appraising stare. "Since you were obviously not born with an innate sense of obedience I suppose it must be taught to you. As I said before even the strongest rock can be broken."

At his words Cole felt his insides turn cold and his skin prickle.

"It would take one stronger than you," he growled defiantly despite his fear.

"Is that a challenge? I am Kudzu-"

"Gesundheit."

Kudzu glared at Cole a moment before continuing, "I am going to pretend I didn't hear that. I have the strength of a mountain the swiftness of the wind. I have the mind of an anicondri, the persistence of a hypnobri. I fight like a venomari, I sting like a fangpire-"

"And you drop like a rock," Cole retorted as he rapidly struck forward without warning, "Yet another skill quite impressive," he said derisively.

Kudzu flew backwards and landed hard on the ground from Cole's unexpected attack. Cole tried to make a run for it while his enemy was down, but Kudzu recovered quickly. He rose and snapped his fingers. Two score of guards seemed to materialize out of the darkness as they rushed forward at the sound of their masters signal to form a ring around Cole. Cole tied to fight back. He performed the triple tiger sashay and made it over the first three rows of soldiers. When he landed he tried to push back the rest blocking his path but there were too many of them and he was inevitably seized and held tightly. His struggles to free himself from the soldiers' grips were in vain and finally he held still. His eyes widened and a shiver ran down his spine as Kudzu approached.

"I see you have a lot to learn Cole, the good thing is that class is now in session," he smiled raising his fists.

Cole forced himself to swallow his fear. Resigned, he glared at his captor. Gritting his teeth against what he knew was coming he stood up straighter as the first blow came crashing down on him.

* * *

**'0' Did I really just do that to Cole? I guess I did.**

**QUESTION:**

**If you were to live in Ninjago, where would you live?**


	8. Preparation for Attack

**A/N:** I felt so bad for doing that to Cole, I mean I really like the dude he is pretty epic, in fact, all the ninja are pretty epic. But nobody wants to read a story about a perfect world where everything is perfect, and I would not like to write it. Anywho, thank you all for your time and reviews you guys are so epic also.

**17blanceri: **'What you call insanity, I call creativity.' I like it Melody, (it's always nice to know someone else is insane :3). I love the forests too, big cities stink (metaphorically and literally :P)! I'll try to see what I can do (My sister doesn't like needless violence as much as I do, so all the violent-ness I put in it gets toned down because of her, and she is older than me…*pouts*)

**Iheartninjago2010: **I know, I feel sorry for having done that to him, but it had to be done :P. Well your just have to keep wondering until you find out XD.

** :** I don't know if there is going to be too much more torture because believe it or not that is not the main theme of the book, but there is going to be tight situations and battles, which I hope you will like. Thank you for your awesome comments!

**Guest:** Thanks! It is rather hypocritical for Kudzu to pick on Cole especially when he is the one who got an F- in standing up school he he, your comment was funny. I loved it.

Thank you to **xXx skytale xXx** and **Ninjagosbiggestfan. **:D

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Plan of Attack**

Kai glared at Sensei Wu. "You can't be serious I don't want Cole hurt or killed but we can't just give Kudzu what he wants. This is not the time to believing in the saying, 'the ends justify the means.' If Kudzu gets his hands on the Mega Weapon the world would be even worse off than it already is from Garmadon."

"We're not going to give it to him Kai," Nya exclaimed. "We just want to lure him out into the open while he has Cole and double cross him. Right Sensei?"

Sensei nodded.

"He'd be expecting us to do something like that. I am almost 100% sure that he would probably make us hand it over without even giving Cole back to us. What if he kills Cole anyway?" Kai exclaimed furiously.

"Kai I would prefer it if you would not make a judgment until you have heard my entire scheme," Sensei said in a quiet yet forceful voice. The look in Sensei's eyes made all the others fall completely silent, but Kai continued on ignoring the warning signs.

"If the rest of your plan is anything at all like the beginning then I don't want to hear it. We should be searching for Kudzu's hide out and trying to rescue Cole," Kai felt his face flush with anger only then did he realize that he had yelled not only at his friends but also at Sensei.

"What is eating at you Kai?" Jay demanded. "You need to calm down."

"It's my fault," Kai yelled exasperated, "If Cole is hurt or worse, it will be because I failed."

"Not this again, Kai-" Lloyd tried, but was interrupted by Sensei.

"I think you need to go and cool off. You are injured and more then that a level head is needed to accomplish the mission I have planed. This is something you need to sort out by yourself; I want you to go to the bunkroom. If fact I think it would be for the best if you stayed back from this mission."

"But Sensei," Kai protested, "I need to help I can't just do nothing."

"No Kai," Sensei shook his head, "I told you what I think."

Kai growled angrily and stopped off the bridge towards the bunk room.

"Will he be alright?" Zane asked Sensei as he watched Kai retreating figure.

"Of course he will." Sensei replied. "Now the rest of you pay attention closely here is my plan."

**~x~X~x~**

Kai threw himself on his bed and stared furiously at the ceiling, he had behaved like an idiot again and now he had gotten himself forbidden from the mission to save Cole. He knew that Sensei was planning to steal the Mega-Weapon from Garmadon.

Everyone was right, he needed to stop moping and blaming himself, action was what was needed. It was true that the past could never be changed but the course of the future could. So he was forbidden from Sensei's mission that did not mean he could not do his best to help in whatever way he could.

Having made up his mind, he jumped out of the bunkroom window. If he could find and rescue Cole he could prevent Sensei's plan from going awry as an extra fail-safe, and perhaps he could also keep Cole from being hurt if it was not already too late. He knew that by the time that Jay, Zane, Nya, Lloyd and Sensei found out he was gone it would be too late for them to do anything about it. As soon as he was on the ground the Destiny's Bounty's engine's started up and the ship began its ascent.

**~x~X~x~**

"Listen ninja," Sensei ordered as they flew. "For my plan to be successful we need to get the Mega-Weapon. I have a hunch that my brother is currently in the lost city of Ouroboros. If any of you could possibly make Garmadon want to engage me in negotiation that might be even better than getting the weapon itself. You must strive for either one or the other."

Sensei turned to the youngest of the ninja, "Lloyd if you plan to help the team I am sending, you must not let your father see you. If he knows that you are older it might prompt him into doing something bad so be careful. We should arrive at our destination a little before nightfall and we will wait for the cover of darkness to make our move."

Having finished his briefing he turned to the ninja of lightning. "Jay I want you to check and see if Kai had cooled off enough to play a part even if it is just guarding the ship with me."

Jay ran off but returned a few seconds later. His face was worried and his dark blue eyes troubled. "Sensei, Kai is gone."

Sensei smiled, "Good, very good. I expected nothing less from your hot-headed brother."

"Where did he go?" Zane asked

"To be useful," Sensei replied.

"All that's very good," Nya complained, "I just hope he doesn't try anything foolish, or make even more problems for everyone."

"If my guess is correct he is paling the part of failsafe." Sensei smiled.

Nya turned to the golden haired Lloyd, "Are you ready to visit your father without actually seeing each other?"

Lloyd's green eyes shone with an odd mix of longing, sorrow and determination.

"Yup," he replied simply. "No time like the present."

**~x~X~x~**

Kudzu followed as two of his soldiers dragged a subdued Cole back to his prison. Kudzu had made sure he had paid for his rebellion. He could not afford to let Cole escape; too much depended on his capture. His soldiers tossed him face down onto the table that served as a bed. He let out a soft groan but did not move. His soldiers exited the shed and Kudzu stayed behind. He walked up and gently patted Cole on the back. He could feel Cole recoil at his touch and he chuckled.

"You know Cole, I believe it would be mutually beneficial for everyone if you just stayed still and quiet for the rest of your stay here, hmmm?"

He was rewarded with a low growl from his prisoner. There was no doubting the earth ninja's spirit. Perhaps his uses could extend beyond bargaining chip. Perhaps all the ninja could prove to be useful to him. After all, they were supposed to be his protectors until he lost his power. Perhaps he could even use the female samurai and the current green ninja, if he could ever stand the thought of looking at him directly. He had seen them fight and if the female samurai had created all her gear herself then that meant she was clever as well as skilled. With these thoughts in mind he turned and left the chamber, triple locking the door behind him.

Cole lay completely still until the residual stinging finally subsided substantially. He rolled onto his back and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He had just about had enough. He glared angrily at the shut and locked prison door, then at the window that had been replaced with sturdy iron bars while Kudzu was messing him up.

Kudzu thought he was this great and powerful man, yet he only would fight when his opponent was bond and helpless. Of course he would come out as the physical winner in a fight if his opponent was helpless to defend themselves or fight back. He would be the physical winner but in all truthfulness his mastery was nothing more than an illusion. In Cole's opinion one who fought in that way was only worthy of scorn.

Groaning, he cradled his bruised torso with one hand while gingerly inspecting his swollen eye, and bruised and swollen cheek and lip with the other hand. Muttering angrily to himself he tore a small piece of his already torn shirt and dabbed at the blood on the bridge of his nose and side of his face.

If Kudzu thought that this would serve to deter and subdue him he was wrong. This only effected to make him thoroughly angry and more determined than ever. He wished Kai were here to firebend Kudzu's miserable face off, or Zane to freeze him and then smash him to bits or, Jay to give him the shock of a lifetime (only experienced once), or Sensei to forcefully knock some tense into his skull with his fighting staff. Perhaps Nya could smash him with her exo-suit. He himself had a great big metaphorical rock, with Kudzu's name written all over it, just waiting for the perfect opportunity.

"Ouch," he cried sharply, his dark thoughts had made him dab at his cheek a bit too forcefully. Sitting back, he closed his eyes and tried to think. He would need a massive devious strategy to get out of this mess. He would need a plan with Kai's ingenuity, Jay's creativity, Zane's knowledge, Sensei's wisdom, Nya's practicality, Lloyd's luck, and his own leadership and planning skills.

He vowed to succeed this time. He had no desire to be caught again. His eyes snapped open and he surveyed his prison. He had already tried to exploit the most obvious weakness of his cell and his enemy had expected that. He knew from experience that anything one came across, weather it was a person or an object, usually had more than one weakness. He would need to find them and utilize them all.

Near the left wall, a floorboard appeared to be slightly loose. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to rise and inspect it further. He lightly kicked at the floorboard and smiled maliciously when he saw it move. His smile grew even wider when he turned back in the direction of his makeshift bed. There was a large deep triangle shaped crack in the split log that made up the back wall directly underneath it. His smile faded suddenly into a grimace. Clutching his torso he sank back onto his bed and curled into a ball. The position offered him a bit of relief and he closed his eyes. Weariness overcame him and he soon fell asleep but his mind was at ease now that he had a plan. All he needed was the cover of darkness.

His sleep was rather fitful; his hard bed did nothing to help ease his pain and discomfort. When the sun finally set, though, he felt rested and a little better. He was ready for action. He kept his eyes closed and waited. He heard faint voices outside his prison and strained his ears to hear more.

"Well how is he?" Kudzu's voice sounded.

"He has hardly moved all day sire." The voice of a guard sounded. "All he's done is sleep and whine and moan. You sure got him good lord I'm sure he'll think twice before he tries to cross you again. Are you staying up again to watch him lord?"

"Why should I," Kudzu laughed, "I am sure he is not going anywhere tonight. The window is fixed and he is in no condition to try escaping again."

Cole smirked to himself, "I am a lot stronger than you think, and I suppose you never learned that a ninja never quits. Although, you are quite right in assuming that I won't escape tonight."

"Should I feed him, my lord?" the guard asked.

"After what he just pulled, I think not. But we can't have him die on us either so give him some water."

"Yes lord." There came a sound of keys rattling in the lock.

The enemies were thinking just what Cole wanted them to and he did not want to spoil it so he kept up his rouse of being asleep. Through slited eyes he saw he guard set down a cup of water before exiting and relocking the door.

As soon as the camp was quiet Cole rose. He was thankful for the water because he knew he would need it before the night was through. He mock toasted Kudzu with an evil smile before he set the cup on his table. Gently messaging his aching chest, he bent down and began to loosen the floorboards. Once he had about three of the oak planks up he looked at the compacted desert sand below the hut and tried to quietly channel the power of the scythe of quakes.

* * *

**Please review ^_^ I would love some feedback, and thank you. **

**QUESTION:**

**What is your favorite episode?**


	9. Action

**A/N:** Hi guys, I hope you all are feeling awesome, because you are :) your amazing feedback has inspired me to write. Anyway, Zane, Lloyd, and Jay are putting Sensei's plan into action and Kai will be tracking down Cole.

**Iheartninjago2010- **you will have to wait no longer :) I loved the episode where Jay and Nya have their first date too, I especially love when Cole says: "Yeah, that's cute." In a completely sarcastic way.

**17blanceri- **Wow, that sounds interesting! I should check it out, perhaps after I finish reading your other so I don't spoil myself,(although that knowledge makes it even more tempting) Yep I am bringing everything to a head now. Gosh I'm sorry, I did not mean to make Cole seem OOC-ish, I know that when one writes a fan fiction one's writing is subjective because it is based on our own interpretations of characters but I didn't think I was that far off, what is bothering you about his character exactly? Perhaps I can explain my reasoning or maybe fix it. Anyway thank you so much for your support I love your feedback, It makes me super happy :D.

**Ninjagosbiggestfan-** Cole is having a rough day; Kai is coming to the rescue. I liked seeing the ninja dance too, and I loved the Royal Blacksmiths episode because we finally got a bit of a back-story on Cole (took long enough) thanks for the review.

**Guest-** Sensei is smart and wise :p yeah that would be pretty bad if Kai did that he he *~* :)

**Random. . . PONY-** thanks, that makes me soooooo happy to hear that! Yeah I guess singling just one out is discriminatory, we wouldn't want to be racist now would we? :P

Also, thank you so much to, **xXx skytale xXx** and r**ockslide! **Your comments made me smile.

* * *

**Action**

The ninja had reached the lost city of Ouroboros as soon as night fell. Zane Jay and Lloyd crouched in the cold shadow of the ancient ruins of the serpentine city. Nya and Sensei had stayed behind to guard the ship and act as reserves.

"Well what do we do now?" Lloyd whispered.

"I don't know," Jay replied, "Cole is usually plan maker. Usually by this time he would have already come up with a pretty solid strategy."

"Why don't we start by sneaking past all the guards and get to the main building?" Zane suggested logically.

All three ninja nodded and started inching past the soldiers. The night was plunged into deep darkness by a thick cloud cover. Because the city of Ouroboros was in the sea of sand there were no city lights to reflect of the clouds and brighten the darkness. They had nearly made it to the main building and were crouching, waiting for the perfect time to sneak past the dimly visible guards on watch, when a serpentine blundered into them and screamed with surprise, completely blowing their desire for stealth. Soon the entire area was crawling with serpentine warriors.

Zane and Jay took battle positions around Lloyd and prepared for a fight.

"We are in trouble there is no way we can fight through all these snakes, our stealth operation is a complete bust." Zane said staring grimly at the advancing hoards.

"Ok," Jay said his voice tight with worry, "we need to get out of here there is no way we can steal the weapon now. See the walls?" He said gesturing towards the many walls that ran around and through the city. "If we can get to those we have a chance."

"I see," Zane whispered as he started baking towards the wall. "Once we run across the walls we can run across the ruins of the village rooftops and make our escape."

"Sensei is not going to be happy when he learns that we not only failed to steal the weapon but we did not even get anywhere near it. Whoa! Zane look out!"

"Jay! You look out!" Lloyd exclaimed as two serpentine made a lunge and nearly took out them both. "Why'd you let them get so close?" Lloyd demanded as they made for the wall.

"Kai is usually the one to make the first move and guards against the first wave." Jay said sheepishly as they began their escape.

"I never thought you Ninja would ever be foolish enough to attack me," came the voice of lord Garmadon himself, slicing through the night. He leaped onto the opposing wall. The night was so black that they could hardly see him; the only thing that came into view was his glowing red eyes as they blazed into the darkness.

"It is seriously time to get out of here," Jay whispered.

"No wait," Lloyd interrupted, "I have to try something. Remember Sensei said either to get the Mega-Weapon or convince my father to parley."

"Technically that is correct," Zane whispered back, "but Sensei also said not to let your father see you. What exactly are you planning?"

"I am going to try talking to him, the night is dark and I doubt he can see me clearly but you two stand in front of me just in case."

"We did not come to attack you father," Lloyd said loudly and urgently, trying his best to make his voice sound younger. "We came to warn you of eminent danger."

"Warn me?" Garmadon's low slightly whispery voice echoed incredulously through the darkness.

"More than that, you are in danger and so am I. I need your help," Lloyd said quietly, "And in all truthfulness you need ours as well."

"What could possibly bring about a threat so great as to challenge those who are on opposing sides?" Garmadon growled softly.

"Does the name Kudzu mean anything to you, dad?"

Garmadons red eyes narrowed in concentration, before they brightened. "Wu's first little brat?- I mean apprentice? Stay your blades and stand down," he commanded his army of snakes. "If what my son is saying is true," he explained to his men, "we could be in a perilous situation. I will hear what you have to say." He said his eyes darting back towards the Ninja, his voice cold and menacing.

"He will?" Jay whispered in incredulous surprise.

Trusting Garmadon was like trusting a wild rattlesnake but the ninja knew they had no choice.

"All I ask is that you meet with Sensei in the Destiny's Bounty right on the edge of this city. A meeting of truce," Lloyd said warningly, "meaning a temporary cease to hostility between us. Please come alone or with only one other if you desire company. We swear on our honor you will come to no harm."

Garmadons eyes narrowed to angry dark glowing red slits as he thought.

**~x~X~x~**

Kai trudged through the predawn glow of early morning. He had spent all night trying to get information and his feet were sore from traipsing all over Ninjago City. He knew he only had himself to blame for not thinking ahead enough to get himself a means of transportation. The only upside was that his night had not been a waste. He had managed to corner a helpless fangpire who had told him that he had been captured by Kudzu and taken to the badlands on the outskirts of Ninjago city. That was where Kai was headed but it was a rather long walk. Kai sighed and began to pick up the pace, bringing his trudge to a trot and then a jog. He was tired so he had to focus hard on keeping his feet moving. He heard someone call his name and he instantly recognized the voice but was reluctant to stop. He hoped that the man would realize he was busy and give up.

"Kai," it came again and this time Kai stopped. He looked around him and spotted Lou, Cole's dad, running towards him.

"Kai," he repeated as he came to a stop beside him. "I could never miss the hair and the red anywhere," he took a breath. "Word in the street is that you ninja had a tough time saving Ninjago city the other day. Usually Cole would contact me but I haven't heard a word from him. I just wanted to know if everything was alright."

Kai felt a wave of grief and guilt rush over him. Cole's dad was the last person that Kai wanted to run into. For a split second he thought about lying and saying everything was fine, but he couldn't lie to this man, he was Cole's father he deserved to know the truth.

"Is everything alright?" Lou asked when he saw Kai's face. "Is Cole ok? Please tell me."

Kai took a deep breath "I'm sorry," he finally whispered. "Cole…Cole was captured during the battle. Everyone is doing everything they can and I am following a lead right now."

"Cole is…" Lou's face paled and he took a step backwards.

"I promise I will get your son back, or die trying."

Lou's face filled with pain, horror, and dismay before it turned red with rage. He trembled slightly as he tried to control his temper. After a few moments he calmed himself and straightened, "I know you are all doing your best, what I should be asking is how can I help?"

"I don't suppose you could give me a lift to the badlands?"

"Sure can," Lou smiled, "as long as you don't mind singing I might have to write a song about my feelings. You can explain everything on the way."

This was the last thing that Kai wanted to do but he could hardly refuse. After all, Lou had accepted him into his family when he and Cole had worked out the father son issues that had been separating them, when Cole finally told his dad the truth about being a Ninja and running away and Lou had finally accepted it.

When they reached the spot where the serpentine had directed Kai to, they found nothing but they refused to let that deter them. They began to scour the desert ground for tracks, clues or anything.

Kai had told Cole's dad everything rather uneasily, fearing Lou's temper, but much to his surprise Cole's dad had not displayed any anger or resentment towards him. Although, Kai had thought he noticed a slight look that he had interoperated as the 'a-person-never-lets-down-their-quartet' glare, but it was very fleeting. Cole's dad was furious but not with him. Lou did not blame him for what had happened instead he blamed Kudzu.

Kai wished he could do the same but he was too angry with himself. Sighing, he straightened up. They had been searching in vain all morning and into the afternoon, the only thing keeping them going being the small hope that their next step could reveal something. As Kai looked up he saw that the last shreds his failing hope had not been in vain. Directly ahead of him there was a low growing desert bush and under its plumy foliage almost completely hidden from view a man crouched. A hobo by the look of him, Kai decided as he bent down.

"Lou," he called over his shoulder, "I think we have just found our answer."

"Please don't take me to your evil four-armed master, I did not mean to spy on your camp it was an accident. I would have left long ago if I hadn't been so afraid. Please don't hurt me," the hobo wailed piteously.

"I am not on the side of that monster, and we are not going to hurt you," Kai said soothingly, "but we would be very grateful if you could tell us which direction he went in when he left. I only wish to know because my friend was taken prisoner by him."

"The dark haired one with the dark clothing like yours?" the hobo asked.

Kai nodded.

"I can tell you more than that," the hobo said emerging from his cover and straightening. "I overheard them talking and I got a fair idea where he is hiding."

Kai and Lou stepped forward eagerly.

"He headed towards that small town that is just on the other side of the gorge," he pointed at the massive crack in the earth like a small smudge in the distance. "I heard one of his men say that if one headed straight north for many miles right after the town they would reach the hide out."

A smile spread across Kai's face and Lou pulled a large coin from his waistcoat and tossed it to the hobo who caught it deftly, his eyes wide with surprise at the amount. He muttered his gratitude as he pocketed the coin.

* * *

**Thank you all for reading!** And I apologize for the dual cliffhanger don't worry they shall mostly be resolved next update, hehe.

**QUESTION:**

Out of all the ninja whose personality is closest to your own?


	10. Freedom

**A/N:** Sorry for the slightly late update, I have been rather distracted lately. You had better enjoy this chapter because I am taking time out of swimming on my short beach vacation to write this :P although I do consider writing to be as fun as swimming, I just don't get to see the ocean much where I live. I was just kidding about the must like it, I realize I can't actually force anyone to like anything, but I hope you do anyway. I would like to take the time to thank all of you for reading and reviewing. You guys are great and well worth missing some swimming. This chapter switches perspective three times (switching to that of each of the three ninja groups) I hope I transition well and it is all clear for you. :D

To answer a few of you who asked, I think I might be closest to Kai, my sister is closest to Cole and we both have a bit of Zane's social, awkwardness, and nerdyness but I think we both have pretty good senses of humor. It was cool finding out your closest character parallels (not in a creepy stalkerish sort of way, but because I find stuff like that fun, I often find myself taking 'what character are you' tests.)

**JayceePhantom-** *Looks around with pocket periscope to make sure no stalkers are around* Yep, you can never be too sure. I think you are Kai too.

**xXx skytale xXx- **hehe, no problem, I have done that before myself. Thank you and don't worry Kai will try his best and Cole will be trying his best also.

**Ninjagosbiggestfan- **I am sure you are over 80% correct in your assumption (are you a jedi? :P) Nothing wrong with being like Zane and Lloyd they are totally awesooooome :) and I am over 90% sure you are too.

**Fatal Strike-** thanks! I think that four prople used to working in a team would have serious problems if they were split because they are strongest when they are together. It's cool because when all the ninja are together they have almost all their bases covered concerning skill sets, so they could almost be unstoppable. XD

**Mortal Draw-** no problem, my sister has been doing the same thing. It is so massivly time consuming it is sickening what with all the tests and studying college hunting and prep work. Not looking forward to it.

**Iheartninjago2010-** awwwww thanks :D :P (blushes) you can most defiantly be shy and funny at the same time. I have found that the ones who are observant and quiet are often the ones who can make the most humorous and understanding statements when they do speak. I hope this update was quick enough for you! (Are you sure your not a nindroid? XD I mean you never can tell)

**17blanceri**- oh that's good to hear I was a bit worried. I think that I would be pretty mad were I in Cole's position so that's why I made him rather peeved. Sweet you got a little bit of all of them, now you're unstoppable, Melody! :D

**Kokokringles**- thanks for your reviews! Sounds like you are going to have a best (fan fiction) seller on your hands soon. That happens to me too I see or hear something and am then inspired. Cole and Jay huh, sounds like an epic mix. :)

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Freedom**

Cole had spent all of the previous night and a small part of the morning, when the coast was clear, digging and escape tunnel that he was not even going to use. The tunnel was nothing more than an elaborate bluff. It was small and narrow and went no more than eight feet before it led into a pitfall. As an added bonus the tunnel was not completely stable and would collapse if someone fell into the pit at the end. He felt and heard the morning changing of the guard from his position in his hole and he climbed back into his prison dusting himself as he did so. He replaced the floorboards hastily and lay back down on his bed to wait for night when he would make his final move to escape. Smiling he fingered something he had found during his midnight excavation, it was a broken spear head. It would serve him well for the next phase of his plan. He needed to wait for cover of darkness again, which was just as well for he was exhausted and his whole body ached, especially his face and torso which still throbbed dully. His stomach was currently hurting just as much, protesting vehemently with hunger. He was only thankful that he had not had to dig out everything by hand. As soon as he closed his eyes he fell asleep.

He was awakened by the uncomfortable feeling of cold water being dumped on his head. His eyes snapped open to see the form of Kudzu standing over him.

"Just making sure you are still alive earth ninja," he said folding his top two arms across his chest and fingering the blade of his sword with the other two. "I never thought you would actually take my advice, perhaps you are smarter than you look."

Cole said nothing and averted his eyes staring at the wall instead of Kudzu. Out of the corner of his eye, Cole saw Kudzu smile with pleasure. He was obviously taking his actions as proof of submission, which was what he had intended.

"Well I am glad to see the improvement of you attitude, you learn fast. I hope you feel better soon," he mocked, bringing one of his fists down hard on Cole's chest. Cole gasped form the pain and Kudzu left laughing. Cole bared his teeth at the retreating figure.

"If I am a lot smarter than I look than you are a lot stupider," Cole muttered as he glanced out the window. It was a good thing that Kudzu had become bored with all his sleeping and lounging. It was nearly past twilight outside and if Kudzu had not woken him he could have missed his opportunity.

As soon as the enemy camp was quiet he began to work on the crack in the wall underneath his bed. Using the spearhead he managed to saw completely through. The crack was the shape of three sides of a square and was as broad across as his shoulders. When he worked down the side, the dry wood fractured and came loose. He winced at the sound and rushed back to his bed and lay still incase a soldier came to check.

When he deemed it was safe again he went back to work. He removed the wood to reveal an opening just large enough for him. Smiling, he headed towards his excavation work, removed the floorboards that covered his decoy tunnel, and then crossed the room one last time to squirm out of the hole in the wall. Once he was through he replaced the wood.

When the guards came to check on him they would see the tunnel and instantly go for it. With any luck Kudzu would try and go through the tunnel and would be the first to blunder into his trap. It also came with the added bonus that Kudzu would not know which direction he had actually fled. Cole scanned the night then quickly dove into a nearby bush as a guard went by on his rounds. As soon as the guard passed he poked his head out from the foliage and his eyes widened.

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered. Between him and freedom lay five guard towers with two look outs and one soldier to man a dim search light. The light swung around the tower in a steady continuous circle.

"Somebody is excessively paranoid or really does not want me escaping," he whispered to himself sardonically.

Taking a deep breath he tried to memorize the pattern of the guard watches and the searchlights. When he was ready, he dashed past a light beam and hid himself in another low growing bush. When the next light passed over him he made another dash and repeated the process until he was passed the guard towers. He army crawled past the guards on watch. Then he darted from shadow to shadow until he was out of sight of the camp. He got his bearings by looking at the stars and forced his aching tired body into a fast walk. He knew he had a long way to go.

When he had left the camp far behind him, he could make out the faint far off glow of the large city's lights in the distance. Focusing on that, he trudged onward. When the sky started to brighten with the coming day, he spotted a small river that ran through the west side of the badlands. Everywhere, stretching the length of the river and going about half a mile to a mile out on both sides of the rivers bank was a bosky, a thin forest of cottonwoods and shrubs.

Knowing it would give him some cover, he altered his course a few points west. He was nearing the bosky when he picked up a terrifying sound. It was the chopping blades of a Raptorcopter. When Cole had first arrived at Kudzu's camp he had seen two Raptorcopters that he assumed had been stolen from the serpentine. Fearing that they might belong to Kudzu, he felt his heartbeat start to race.

He altered his weary trudge to a sprint and dashed for the thin forest. He was nearing the fringe of woodland when he tripped on an exposed root and tumbled down a slight gully and into the shade of the bosky. The noise of the raptor copter grew louder. He burrowed as best he could under a pile of dead leafs hoping that if he stayed still he would not be spotted from above. He held his breath as the Raptorcopter flew by, and then let it out as it flew past. He did not move for several minutes and then he got up with a groan. Tumbling down the hill had done nothing to help his soreness.

As he rose he spotted a few edible nuts and snatched them. He had not eaten since the morning of his capture and he was famished. He moodily munched the measly morsel and started on his way again. If those Raptorcopters had belonged to Kudzu then his enemy was aware of his escape and searching for him. Logically, he would be sending his solders out to look for him.

He had not gone more than sixty paces when he heard the sound of marching feet behind him. He looked around desperately for a place to conceal himself, there were no good bushes and the foliage of the trees was not thick enough to conceal him. His heart in his mouth, he finally looked towards the small muddy river. He saw a cluster of thick reeds and horsetails by the bank and dashed towards and then into their midst. Burying himself deep into the mud of the riverbank and the shelter of the reeds, he watched as a troop of Kudzu's soldiers marched by. There was no doubt that his enemy would be sending patrols everywhere all day so he knew he would have to be on his toes. As soon as they passed he rose cautiously, looking down at himself as he did so. He sighed. He was an absolute mess, his clothes were muddy torn and covered in foliage, and his beat up personage only added to his disheveled look.

"Well today sure will be fun," he said to himself mordantly. This was going to be a rough day to say the least. In fact his past several days had been rather rough. Shaking his head, he moved onwards. He only hoped his friends were having an easier time than he was.

**~x~X~x~**

Kai listened to the constant steady beat of his feet on the path leading out of the small city that was just across the great gorge and surrounded the road that led to the only bridge across the colossal spit in the ground. It was the town that the hobo had directed him to. Neither the hobo nor Cole's dad had accompanied him. The hobo had left out of fear and Kai had asked Lou to try to get a message to Sensei Wu and the ninja.

He left the last house of the small town behind him as he headed for the path that ran along the small river that cut through the badlands and was in the shade of the bosky that surrounded the rivers bank. He had lost almost an entire nights travel and was trying to make up for it by moving along at a jog.

When he had reached that small town, late the night before, he had accidentally blundered into a small party of Kudzu's soldiers. They had unknowingly surrounded him. Thankfully they had not seen him, but he had had to remain hidden nearly all night for they had seemed loathed to move. It was not until morning that they decided to move out. All though the experience had been rather terrifying it had also been very helpful. He now knew the exact location of Kudzu's camp.

The reason for his speed was because he knew that that this was the day of Cole's ransom. The sun was barely up and he knew he only had until sunset to find and free Cole. He could not allow himself to be late, too much was at stake. He knew he had tons of ground to cover so he brought his trot up into a ground eating lope and hurried onwards. The thought of what Kudzu might be doing to Cole, the thought of what might happen to everyone if Kudzu got the Mega Weapon, and his promise never to fail Cole again, were the only things that kept his tired hungry body going.

~x~X~x~

Zane and Jay sat in the Destiny's Bounty next to Nya and across from Sensei and Garmadon at the table in the galley. Lloyd was in the bunk room intent on keeping to the plan of not letting Garmadon see him. They still could not believe that Lloyd and Sensei had talked the lord of evil into parleying with them. Sensei had convinced him of the danger his former apprentice posed. Garmadon had agreed that as before with the Great Devourer they should do everything in their power to stop Kudzu. Zane and Jay were wondering whether this was because that perhaps under all Garmadon's evil bluster he actually cared a little bit for people. Or perhaps it was because he wanted to be the supreme ruler of all and temporarily joining forces with them would help to snuff out his opponents. After all, Kudzu had the power to control the Mega Weapon which was a big threat to Garmadon.

They looked at each other solemnly almost reading each other's thoughts and the question there. Then they finally shrugged at each other when they could not decide which it was; although, both were leaning to the latter. Sensei and Garmadon were now deep in conversation trying to make plans. Garmadon who had been listening patiently, could hold back the protest that was forming in his mind any longer and interrupted.

"I do not understand why you want me to risk my Mega Weapon for Cole. Your plan puts me at great risk."

"You mean it puts your power at risk," Zane corrected him coldly.

"Cole is more important than your stupid weapon," Jay snapped vehemently.

"To you only," Garmadon replied, his tone soft and dark, urging both Zane and Jay to silence.

"For bait," Sensei said, ignoring the interruptions to answer Garmadon's question. "It will put him and his soldiers exactly where we want them. You will give me the Mega Weapon and I will pretend to trade it for Cole but you will initiate phase two of the plan before I actually hand it over and give the Mega Weapon to Kudzu."

Jay and Zane stared dumfounded wondering if Garmadon would actually go through with this plan when he had to give his weapon of supreme power over to his brother, his enemy. As if he had read their mind Garmadon chuckled.

"Alright brother, I agree to the plan you proposed. I have no fear of you keeping the Mega Weapon, for you can only hold it if it is wrapped in a cloth so you don't actually touch it and even then you cannot hold it for long or wield it in any way. It will be easy for me to get it back. Come, we had better get going; I have an army to rally."

* * *

**Did you expect Garmadon to do that? Yes? No? Maybe? Did you like it?**

**QUESTION:**

**Sometimes you feel like you want to kill a character because they are being stupid/annoying/obnoxious. Which charater did you feel like killing sometime during Ninjago?**


	11. Disguise

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay, I had everything ready to go yesterday and then I lost my internet connection on my computer, but all excesses aside, the next chapter is up! I am back from vacation and once again consumed by school. I have so many finals to study for. :( Just saying the word final makes me want to shudder. ): I typed this during breaks between studying and I think it has been the only fun thing I have done this week. Another note, Before anyone attacks me for making Cole fight a little under his usual awesome standards in this chapter, please bear in mind that he is injured, hasn't eaten in three days, and he is exhausted from walking nonstop though the night and most of the day to escape. After this chapter I think there will be maybe two or three more till the end. I hope you enjoy this week's chapter :)

**kokokringles-** yeah I found that really annoying as well. :)

**webchow-** yeah I'm with you on that

**thorn garmadon-** Kai can be aggravating sometimes, but I really like the dude. Kruncha and Nukal are my most favorite bad guys, aside from Garmadon. Even when there threatening, they are just so cute

**Ninjagosbiggestfan**- I was like nooooooooo during those last episodes. The overlord is a massive jerk and he deserved to die. Yeah I anted to jump in and take him out too.

**KaiFlame-** yay I surprised one person. :P

**Iheartninjago2010-** Thanks :) true the show just wouldn't be the same without all the characters.

**17blanceri-** I laughed so hard when Kai said he was the ninja of hot air, its so true! most all he does is blow steam with his lies and boasts. He is arrogant without having anything to be arrogant about. As one of my favorite quotes says "Those who think they know everything really annoy those of us who do." Even though he's annoying he does amuse me though. :)

**xXx skytale xXx-** Yeah, me too. :P

* * *

Chapter 11

Disguise

Cole hurried along in the late afternoon heat heading continuously south, always keeping an eye out trying hard to keep his pace faster than a pained trudge. He was constantly looking for danger and constantly looking for someone who could help him or get word to his friends. He had seen plenty of danger, but so far no help what so ever. He had been dodging troops nearly all day.

He reached a bend in the road and then paused. Something felt off about this place, it was too quiet. Before he could react to his suspicions, a shout emanated from the trees. About fifteen of Kudzu's soldiers leaped out from the shrubs around the path to surround him. Cole felt a knot grow in the pit of his stomach when he realized he had walked into an ambush. He groaned. Readying himself he took a fighting stance.

"Found you earth ninja," One soldier growled with dark pleasure, "Master Kudzu is, how shall I say it? Most displeased. With laugh he and the other fourteen eased forward and without warning launched an attack.

Cole's heart turned icy cold with fear. He did not want to go back, he couldn't go back. Taking a breath he buried his fear and kept his face impassive. He stood his ground, trying his best to keep his eyes on all his opponents at once, because they had surrounded him.

He tried spinjitzu but one of the soldiers managed to strike him from behind. Blindly he staggered forward a few paces before he righted himself. He tried to hold off his foes with his fists alone, because he lacked a weapon of any sort, but there were too many of them. The leader managed to break through his defenses from behind and another struck him violently in the tender part of his torso. With a cry of pain he folded to his knees. He knew his freedom was about to come to a crashing end. The foe advanced upon him steadily. Clutching his torso he drew a shuddering breath as he took another hit. The warriors were about to fall on him, blows raining, when they stopped suddenly as a battle cry sounded. A twisting dust devil of fire sped towards the soldiers.

"Kai," Cole gasped.

Kai took out five soldiers with his spinjitzu and then leaped into action with his katana.

"Keep away from him," he yelled knocking the soldiers off of Cole. Cole rose to his feet and together they took out the last fifteen warriors, leaving them unconscious on the ground.

When the lay of the land was once again clear, Cole finally relaxed his tensed muscles, panting from the effort of his battle. When he turned towards Kai he was surprised to see his hot headed friend dash towards him and envelope him in a hug. Kai was funny that way, he could behave stolidly one moment but display extreme emotion the next. Cole at first tried to brush the hug away but ended up hugging him back just as strongly.

"Thank you," he managed to whisper, feeling weak and over emotional which made him feel silly, embarrassed, and it had to be admitted, rather stupid. He released Kai and glanced around nervously to make sure no one had seen them.

"Thank me?" Kai exclaimed surprised, "But not for me and you would not have gotten left behind and caught in the first place. Look at you, look at what they did to you, you look horrible and it is my fault."

"Is that any way to address your leader, Kai?" Cole asked with a sarcastic smile. "How dare you make a crack about my appearance."

Kai smiled wanly at the friendly jibe and Cole realized that he was genuinely distressed.

"It was just a serious of undesirable circumstances outside of our control. I don't blame anyone for what happened except for our enemy." Cole said seriously.

Kai nodded gratefully at Cole, happy that he was not holding a grudge. "We need to get back to Ninjago city but, thanks to you, Kudzu's soldiers are everywhere. They are watching the bridge."

"How do you know his name?" Cole asked surprised.

"Sensei told me. Kudzu was his first apprentice."

"That explains a lot."

"Anyway," Kai continued, "I have an idea how to get us through but I am going to have to bend the law a bit. You wait here I'll be right back."

Cole stashed himself in some dense undergrowth and waited for Kai, grateful for the chance to rest. Kai returned in about a half an hour from a house he had previously passed on his way up the path.

His hair was slicked back flat and he was wearing nerdy glasses a terrible suit like a school uniform with a vest and a tie and he was holding a violin case.

"And you said I looked terrible," Cole teased stepping out from behind his cover.

"Well now you are going to look even worse," Kai smirked, opening the violin case.

"Why doesn't that reassure me?" Cole asked sarcastically.

Kai dumped a shaggy blond wig and some farmer's clothes at Cole's feet.

"Oh great," Cole said mordantly eyeing the disguise.

When he was dressed he let out a rather depressed sounding sigh. The shaggy blond wig hid his dark colored eyebrows and half of his eyes, helping to disguise him and his slightly battered face.

Kai looked at him critically for a moment before darting off into the trees, looking for something. When he returned he was holding a golden colored grass stem in his hand. It looked a lot like a head of wheat. Kai dashed up and stuck it into Cole's surprised mouth.

"There," Kai said with a grin. "Perfect."

Cole scowled.

"That face could use some work," Kai said critically, trying to look serious, "I don't think you are performing to the best of your ability. You see, farmers live with plants and sweet fluffy animals, they always smile."

"And nerds get bullied, guess who next on the list," Cole teased back, a fake evil smile plastered on his face in an exaggerated way.

Kai sniggered and then bit his lip with a worried expression as a thought hit him. "We have to get back to Ninjago before sunset because-" he stopped speaking when the familiar sound of engines came to his ears.

Looking up, Cole caught sight of the Destiny's Bounty slowly flying north east the exact direction he had just come from.

"Oh no," Kai exclaimed. "They're heading towards the designated meeting spot to deliver the Mega-Weapon in exchange for you."

"What?" Cole gasped, "We have to stop them. We can't let Kudzu get the Mega-Weapon."

"We will never catch them on foot." Kai pointed out miserably.

"We have to try. Somehow we have to find a way," Cole said breaking free of the cover of the bosky and heading for the road that was a quarter of a mile away. "Maybe we can hitchhike."

The loud sound of another engine met their ears at soon as they reached the road. Both of them turned to see the ninja tank heading towards them in the crazy cock eyed manner that came from being piloted by only one person. Cole's eyes widened with surprise as it speed closer.

"Is that my dad driving the ninja tank?" he asked in a disbelieving tone of voice squinting at the approaching vehicle.

"It is," Kai said in a wondering tone, "He was helping me look for you."

"He was?" Cole's face beamed with pleasure.

Kai grabbed Cole by the arm and dashed into the middle of the road directly in front of the speeding vehicle.

Cole's dad slammed on the breaks just in time and stuck his head angrily out of the window.

"Would you two idiots get out of the road, I am in the middle of a-" he took a second glance at the _idiots,_ staring pointedly at them for several moments.

"Cole? Kai?" he stammered. "Cole it is you," he exclaimed happily, climbing out of the car.

Kai had almost never seen a person look so relieved and happy, and the look in Cole's eyes warmed his heart. It made him wish that his own parents were still alive.

Lou repeated his son's name as he hugged him. "I…" He stammered "I don't think bond is your color son. And Kai I have to say that this hairstyle is even worse than your last one."

Kai smirked and Cole chuckled.

"Thank you Kai," Lou said finally. "I tried to contact the other ninja but I could not get a hold of them or even find them for that matter so I thought I would pop over to Nya's shop and bring this to you. Only I did not know where you might be except for northeast.

"Dad you just saved everyone's hides. Come on Kai; let's go before it's too late. Dad, are you coming?" he asked as an afterthought.

"No, I have some friends who live not too far from here by the river; I think I will go there. Fighting is not exactly my area of expertise. Do me a favor though," he said looking directly at them, "Be more careful this time."

"Promise," Cole said as he and Kai got into the ninja tank.

"Oh, tell your friends I am just borrowing their stuff and I promise I'll give it back." Kai called out the window. "I don't make a habit out of stealing but it was either steal or get killed and have Ninjago taken over by an evil megalomaniac so I chose the former."

With that they sped of leaving Lou standing surprised in the dust.

"Kai..." he muttered disparagingly.

* * *

**Can you picture Cole and Kai like that? I hope the Royal Blacksmiths don't get mad... Did you like it? I have some good news for you all: after my final exams on Monday I will be offically on summer vacation and will be able to type way more! Yay!**

**QUESTION:**

**What part of Ninjago did you think was the most funniest (excuse my grammar) part? (Like: which part did you laugh the hardest for)**


	12. Cole's Ransom

**A/N:** I have finally made it to the finale, hope you guys enjoy! Time for the final battle, Oh muah Muah mwahahahah *dorky evil laugh*

**KaiLover101-** I heard that too, it's awesome, I have been running around the house squealing with happiness, much to my family chagrin.

**17banceri-** Thanks! Long review, but I don't blame you; so much of Ninjago is funny. I think I laughed at everything you mentioned. :D

**rockslide-** thank you! Now you can see :P

**xXx skytale xXx-** yeah I agree with you about that, actually I agree with everything you said now that I think about it.

**Ninjagosbiggestfan-** yeah poor Cole as if he didn't already go through enough. XD, yeah I loved Kai on venom _"he was one hundred feet tall with weapons coming out of every part of him!" _(Best way to describe Santa EVER!)_ "Look at sensei's beard, it's moving, like snakes!" *brings food up to face and completely misses mouth* _XD I almost died laughing.

**Iheartninjago2010-** Thanks. I loved that episode and I think it's hilarious when Jay gets hysterical. :)

**kokokringles-** I love Garmadon's monologues, they're hilarious.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Cole's Ransom**

Sensei stood on the deck of the Destiny's Bounty thinking as he fingered the cloth covered Mega Weapon.

"My falcon has confirmed that lord Garmadon and the Serpentine are in position," Zane said as he joined Sensei Wu on the deck. "Is something wrong?"

"My smoke visions are troubling me," Sensei admitted after a pause.

"About the battle?"

About Cole. I saw him lying wounded in a dark room with Kudzu standing over him laughing."Sensei admitted quietly. "Perhaps it is for the best that Kai is not here to see the exchange."

"Good to save his feelings but bad for us when we double cross Kudzu. Without Kai and Cole, for that matter, our strength is limited."

Sensei nodded his acknowledgment of the fact. "We will have to do our best with the force we have. Ninja, Nya," he ordered the three others that had joined them. "Prepare yourself."

The ship landed in the pre arranged meeting spot with a light thud and the ninja force exited and lined up shoulder to shoulder facing the enemy that was amassed thirty paces away.

Sensei stepped forward clasping the Mega Weapon. "Bring Cole he demanded his former apprentice.

Kudzu smiled impassively. "What master? No greeting for you former student?"

"You are no longer a student of mine."

"True. I have risen far above you. I see you have brought what I asked for. Now if you would be so kind as to hand it over." Kudzu's yellow eyes were gleaming with desire and he stretched forward a hand.

"I will not trade this for nothing," Sensei said angrily, "Give us Cole or we keep the Mega Weapon."

"Well you see Wu," Kudzu sneered putting a mocking emphases on the name, "I lied to you. I think I will keep Cole. He amuses me and might make a nice slave; I have already started forcing him into submission."

Sensei Wu saw his students flinch at the mention of, 'forcing him into submission.' They had caught the cruel insinuation.

"Then you do not get the Mega Weapon," Sensei Wu said simply and angrily.

Inside he was slightly worried. He had hoped that Kudzu would cooperate. A vision flashed unbidden through his mind. He saw Cole standing submissively and totally cowed behind Kudzu. His face expressionless, his once lively, intelligent, eager eyes dull and lifeless, a mere shadow of the bright strong figure he once was, nothing more than a mindless servant to the dark. He knew Kudzu was playing mind games with him and this knowledge was completely confirmed by Kudzu's next statement.

"You will give me the weapon or I promise Cole will be in a world of pain before he dies and I will make sure to tell him who is responsible for his suffering. So, my old master, you have two choices. Either I get a new slave or you lose your precious student forever in the most painful way possible."

"Those are some horrid options," Sensei heard Jay mutter.

"When I'm finished with him then maybe I can start on you and the rest of your brothers," Kudzu laughed, turning towards Jay.

When Kudzu swung his yellow eyes in his direction Sensei's got a flash of another vision, this time he saw all his students standing defeated and subdued behind Kudzu as he commanded them. Sensei's eyes darkened. He was displeased with the game his former student was playing. However, his former student seemed to have forgotten something about him, namely, that he was always one to cover all his bases. It appeared that Kai had been right in his assumption, and Sensei had suspected that he might be. He still had faith that his hot headed apprentice would pull though. He only wished he would hurry up about it, Garmadon too, he was extremely late. He should have long since made one of his dramatic entrances.

~x~X~x~

The ninja tank had run out of fuel a mile before the exchange site.

"Can you run a mile?" Kai asked his clearly worn friend.

"I don't think we have much choice, I suppose I will have to make it whether I am able or not," Cole said as he broke into a tired limping run.

'Come on, come on,' Kai whispered to himself as they ran, 'please don't let us be too late, please,' he begged fate.

~x~X~x~

Sensei thought of his smoke visions and he took a glance at the horrified faces of all his apprentices. It appeared that neither Kai nor Garmadon were going to make it in time. To willingly let a member of his family suffer when it was well within his power to save him from such a fate was nearly too much for Sensei. He took a pace forward muttering something quite unrepeatable under his breath at the sad turn of events.

"Wait," A voice that sounded slightly familiar sounded.

Sensei turned to see a nerdy looking violin playing school boy and a ragged looking farm boy with a wheat grass stem sticking carelessly out of the side of his mouth.

"You don't have to make the deal and, in fact, you shouldn't." The schoolboy said matter of fact.

"What's this," Kudzu mocked, "your back up? Your nerd brigade or your gardeners?" he laughed, "are they going to plant and play their way to victory?"

The school boy, ignoring the slight, spoke again. "You don't have to exchange anything Sensei. Kudzu has nothing to bargain with because I have Cole."

The raggedy blond farmer smiled and waved a hand a Kudzu.

Kudzu's mouth dropped open. All the ninja, exclaiming Kai and Cole's names, ran towards them nearly dog piling them. Their joy at being reunited evaporated when Kudzu's voice rose.

"It appears that since there will be no trade I will just have to take what I want. Men, attack!"

In the distance his two raptor copters became visible and his army mobilized. At the same time there was a rumble in the ground and Garmadon and his army of serpentine emerged from a tunnel dug by the constricti. They emerged behind the ninja's line to fight alongside them. Unfortunately even with Garmadon and the serpentine Kudzu's army far surpassed their own.

"Sorry I'm late; I caught every red light," Garmadon apologized with a wicked sneer.

"either that or you wanted a more dramatic entrance," Sensei scolded.

Without so much as a pause, Kudzu's army attacked. Sensei handed Garmadon the Mega Weapon and took out his fighting staff.

Jay looked at the advancing enemy then at their own force. Without so much as a word, he turned and ran off, jogging away from the battle. Then the fight began. The ninja and Nya tried to keep together in a defensive group. The lord of darkness shouted orders to his troop.

"Where is Jay?" Kai asked worriedly. "Where did he go and why did he run?"

"I am not sure but I," Zane stopped mid sentence, "and uttered a low startled exclamation of dismay.

Turning Kai saw about sixty more reinforcements running down the mountain slopes. Even Garmadon was looking slightly apprehensive at this startling turn of events. The oncoming flood of enemies swarmed through on mass, cutting of the defenders from each other. Lloyd and Nya were left to fight towards the left edge of the battle, Sensei and Garmadon were back to back on the right and the serpentine were towards the front. Cole, Kai, and Zane were completely surrounded in the middle.

In the distance Kai could see the serpentine army being torn to shreds and their own small band was about to get the same. Kai's eyes narrowed to angry slits as he readied himself. As if of one mind he and Cole tore of their cumbersome disguises.

"Zane," back to back with me, "Defensive positrons!" Cole ordered over the sound of marching feet. "I want an analysis of the situation. Kai-"

"Try to take care of the first wave before I join our defense," Kai interrupted as he hurried off, "It's good to have you back."

"Good to be back, remember don't fully engage I want skirmish attacks."

Kai nodded.

"We are horrifically outnumbered," Zane replied softly, "Our only hope would be for all of us to rally at a single defensive position. We need to fight our way to the others."

Cole nodded. Kai came back from his attack and joined their small circle.

"When they charge us, defend against their attacks and try to work your way to the others."

Kai and Zane nodded.

"Kudzu deserves his head to be frozen off," Zane said coolly as the surprise from Kai's sudden attack wore off and the enemy all around them finally charged.

Kai could not help but smile as he knocked down a foe.

"I wish I could smite my enemy with the scorching flames of justice," he said, joking a little to ease the hopelessness.

"Yes, and then I will crush my foe with the rock of his comeuppance," Cole added with a faint smile before they were overwhelmed.

"If we are going to die then I am honored to die by you," Zane whispered as he desperately parried several charges at once before returning fire with his shurikens. It had to be admitted that their situation looked completely futile.

"We are not going to die here," Cole said angrily. His body shuddered violently then slowly began to take on a golden glow. The light increased until he was completely engulfed by it. With some effort he spoke, "I'll buy us some time and try to cut of the head of the snake, stay close to me or try to get to the others."

"Cole's true potential," Kai gasped, "But how is that possible? He does not have his scythe."

"It must be his close proximity to the Mega Weapon," Zane hypothesized in a wondering tone.

With a cry, Cole began to fight his way through the press of warriors using his strength and earth-bending to their fullest. Dozens of warriors fell into cracks opened in the ground. Chunks of earth went flying into others and the ground shook where he ran knocking his attackers of balance to bring them to the mercy of his fists. His actions gave Zane and Kai time to regroup and regain their standing. Cole was headed straight for Kudzu, taking out anyone who stood in his path.

Awed, Kai turned to see that Zane had also reached full potential. He slid through the battle field on a self made ice ramp, wreaking havoc on the enemy.

Kai tried as hard as he could to reach his power but he couldn't seem to do it. All his efforts were to no avail. He could not feel the thrum of heat and power that signaled his true potential. He tried his best to hold off the enemy with his spinjitzu and katana alone. Because his friends had broken the enemy lines, he was able to hold off his attackers.

Nya had a bunch of enemies on her exo-suit and Lloyd was so busy trying to keep himself alive that he could do nothing to help her. Zane adjusted his self made ice ramp to come to their aid. Launching himself into the air he sailed towards Nya and used his ice-bending to take out her assailants and save Lloyd from being stabbed in the back. Together the three of them went to help the hard pressed serpentine.

Cole had only one person in his sights, and that was Kudzu. He would see how well his enemy would fight when his opponent was no longer a helpless captive. He was determined crush the monster that had hurt him and his friends.

He stopped his charge when he saw what Kudzu was up to. Kudzu had his canon and he had just electrocuted a flaming ball and had loaded it. His stomach twisted when he saw what it was aimed at. It was pointed towards Sensei Wu and lord Garmadon's unprotected sides, as they fought back to back.

Cole was closer to his master and his master's brother than Kudzu and he had to make a split second decision between revenge and love. Having made up his mind, he ran at full speed and leaped in front of Sensei and Garmadon just as Kudzu fired.

He cried out as the full impact of the canon hit him. He was thrown back and tumbled to the ground. The golden glow of his true potential slowly faded away as he lay motionless in the dirt of the desert.

"Cole," Sensei gasped as he saw what had happened. Glaring angrily he readied his fighting staff. "Now you have gone too far," he said glaring at Kudzu, "I had been considering giving you a chance because you were once like family to me but now…"

Garmadon surveyed the carnage, his red eyes stopping almost piteously on Cole's form before they darted up, blazing with anger, "You dared try to shoot me, Lord Garmadon? You are finished scum!"

"I have long awaited a rematch," Kudzu challenged reading his weapons, "Bring it on!"

"Oh, I plan to," Garmadon snarled with a smile.

With that the two brothers charged him.

* * *

**Oops, another one of my accursed cliffhangers, sorry about that, it just happened to play out that way this time. **

**QUESTION:**

**Everyone has a weakness, even the ninja. What, do you believe, is the Achilles heel of the ninja? (as a group or one by one) (Including sensei Wu and Nya if you wish) **


	13. Fixing Broken Pieces

**A/N:** Happy start of summer to all of you! :D I want to thank you all for sticking with this story till the end. You all were so encouraging inspirational and helpful. Thank you all so much for everything. We have finally reached the end of this tale, and I hope you all enjoy the final chapter. :D Time for all the conflict resolutions.

**kokokringles-** yeah I agree with you about that :D

**NinjaNat0215-** yup they sure did.

**17blanceri-** Thank you so much! :D Wow that is epically thought out, I think you are completely right about all of it. 'Our greatest weakness can also be our greatest strength.' I have never thought about it exactly that way before. It's awesome. You know…. That would be a great story, maybe I should write it one day….

**KaiLover101-** I loved that scene so much also XD It's cool that you're like Kai. Thanks for taking the time to review. :)

**ZaneWalker-** you bring up an interesting point about lightning -water can defeat fire and erode rock, rock can smother fire and displace water, fire can melt rock and evaporate water, but lightning…? Maybe its weakness is water because in nature it cannot exist without the static friction generated by water droplets in the clouds, but on the other hand water is a perfect conductor of electricity. That a puzzler O.o Cool! I love conundrums.

**Ninjagosbiggestfan-** yeah you may be right about the tissues. As for Cole and cake, there might be a mention of that XD (I loved that episode) when Cole sets his mind to something he just doesn't give it up XD. I agree with you, those are very valid analyses.

**Iheartninjago2010- **Thank you! Your long wait is over XD

**xXx skytale xXx**- yeah there are probably not any traffic lights XD. You could write a book called how to capure Sensei Wu! Ok so you were my 100th reviewer and I am in the habit of giving the 100th a prize. If you want you can give me a story idea and I will write a One Shot for you, or maybe I could write a poem. If any of it appeals to you write what you think in your next review since I can't PM you. :)

**Guest**- yup time for the epic final battle. I hope it meets with your expectations :) thanks for the review!

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Chapter 13

Fixing Broken Pieces

Kai saw Cole fall and, with a cry of dismay, he performed Spinjitzu and hurried to his friend's side. As soon as he reached Cole, he saw forty enemies heading towards them. They had been the ones engaging Lord Garmadon and Sensei in combat, but, when they saw Kudzu wanted to face his two age old tormentors alone, they backed away and looked for new, fresh prey. Kai stood over Cole's unconscious body. Holding his sword in the ready position, he glared defiance at the forty warriors advancing upon them.

"I may have let you down before Cole, but I promise it will never happen again." As he stood, he felt a thrum of power and saw that he was glowing gold. His body flooded with a rush of fiery heat. Something had finally broken through, he had reached his true potential. Smiling, he raised his hand and a wall of fire sprang up in between him and the enemy.

Sensei had said that emotional turmoil could block his connection with his power, but now it was clear. Yelling a war cry, he began shooting balls of flame though his firewall and out towards his attackers.

Zane, Nya, Lloyd, and the half of the Serpentine army that had not fled, fought their way towards Kai. Zane, using his ice, made an opening in the flames so they could secure themselves behind the safety of Kai's fire barrier.

Only Sensei and Garmadon remained on the outside. The two brothers and their enemy were locked in an intricate death dance. The battle between them was so ferocious that it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand.

Lloyd used all the elements to fend off the warriors who dared to brave the Kai's fire. Zane leaped out from the licking flames every now and then to fire a spray of deadly sharp ice fragments at the enemy. He varied his attack pattern and location he emerged from, to further throw the enemies off.

Things were just starting to look up when Nya shouted a warning. The stolen Raptorcopters wheeled in for a pass, firing a barrage of stones, cannon balls, and other missiles from their catapults and canon ports.

With an amazing burst of controlled speed Zane responded instantly to Nya's shout and the threat. He created a huge thick ice shield behind Kai's fire barricade that curved over their heads and saved them from certain destruction. If the missiles had gotten through, they and their small force would have been obliterated, their army shattered.

The raptor copters swung around for another pass and Zane's ice shield began to crack with the impact. Everyone behind the shield was completely silent, watching, hoping and praying that Zane could hold it.

Zane's head was beaded with sweat and he was trembling with the effort of holding up the huge barrier and trying to repair the cracks that appeared.

The raptor copters swerved to make a third pass. Zane's shield was already fractured in many places. He grunted with exertion as he tried to repair it with ice bending, but the copters were too fast.

Kai eyes widened in horror as the final missile of the third pass shattered Zane's shield completely. His white clad brother dropped to the ground from the shock and exhaustion.

The Serpentine screamed in terror. Kai knew that when the enemy aircraft swung around for its next and, probably, final pass, they would be done for. He could try to intercept the enemy fire with his own but he knew his attempts would be in vain. Everyone knew they were finished as the Raptorcopters came within range. Kai shut his eyes but then opened them again at the sound of the ninja tank's escape plane's engines.

Looking up, he saw the ninja tank's escape plane flying under the added power of Jay's electricity. Jay opened the cockpit and fire two massive lightning bolts at the enemy aircraft. The Kudzu's stolen choppers short-circuited and nearly exploded as the fell to the ground with a massive crash. Desert sand was thrown everywhere in a blinding cloud from their impact. When Kudzu's army saw this, they took one glance at the power embedded ninja and fled.

Cheering at their victory, Kai turned just in time to see Kudzu knock Garmadon to the ground and raise his sword for the kill. Sensei dashed to his brother's aid and stepped in front of the killing blow. He skillfully twirled his staff around himself in masterful display and pushed Kudzu back. Garmadon leaped to his feet and together he and Sensei performed Spinjitzu and trapped Kudzu in between both of their beating whirlwinds.

Things were looking bad for Kudzu when he unleashed a display of his bending prowess. Garmadon was thrown backwards again this time by a bolt of electricity. Sensei was hit in the chest and face with several rocks. Kudzu tried to press his advantage as his old master reeled back from the blows. But Sensei kicked out with both feet and caught his enemy in the torso. They both fell heavily to the ground.

Garmadon, having risen to his feet with a pained groan, saw an opportunity. He lifted his Mega-Weapon and spoke.

"I wish to create a vacuum to pull you back into the void from whence you came and trap you there."

As he spoke the Mega-Weapon glowed gold and a vortex materialized. The whirlpool like portal of swirling gold and black sucked Kudzu backwards until he was pulled inside, before it vanished into nothingness. Kudzu's screams of rage and defeat dissipated into sudden silence as he was forever lost.

There was a soft 'whump' sound as Garmadon fell to his knees. He was panting and laughing, but he was so drained of energy that he could hardly hold his head up. With a shudder he fell to his back.

"I am never doing that ever again," he wheezed softly. "I knew it would nearly be my death if used the Mega-Weapon twice in one day, but now I get to actually feel why it was a bad idea." He said with a dark smile.

"Two times?" Sensei queried as he looked down at his brother.

Garmadon rolled his eyes and spoke with a condescending sneer. "How else do you think your precious students were able to use the full extent of their elemental power without their weapons for one last triumph?"

Sensei gaped at him in astonishment. "That's why you were late?"

"I am not an idiot, brother," Garmadon growled, his voice still strained by exhaustion. "I knew what we were up against and knew what we needed to win. All my power was at stake so I had to do something to insure my victory and secure my power, and I am not yet finished. While it was highly entertaining to watch your students carving their way through the enemy, the next time we meet I assure you that it will be me carving my way through them with just the same pleasure." He laughed and gave a short hoarse call. "So long brother."

At his command the Serpentine rushed forward towards their leader. Ten of them simultaneously threw what appeared to be smoke bombs. When the smoke screen finally cleared, Sensei found that Garmadon and his soldiers had escaped into their tunnel before Sensei and the ninja gathered themselves enough to stop them, and thankfully before he fully saw Lloyd.

Jay flew by overhead in a low circle before he landed the ninja tank's escape plane and exited the cockpit triumphantly. His proud smile faded into an expression of horror when he saw Cole lying motionless beneath Kai.

"What happened?!" Jay demanded his voice tight with barley controlled emotion.

Jay, Lloyd, Zane, and Sensei ran over as fast as they could. Nya got down from her exo-suit, and Kai stepped back a pace. Together they formed a rough circle around Cole's unconscious from. Cole's chest barely rose and fell with his shallow gasping breaths.

"Cole please…" Kai whispered a lump catching in his throat, "I…I can't lose you too…"

The others just stood there in a shocked silence as if loss for anything else to say. It had only been an hour ago that they cheered there brothers return, but all that joy was now lost and forgotten. How could anyone survive being hit with a canon? It was almost foolishness to pray that he might somehow be fine.

"We need to get him aboard the Bounty," Sensei said quietly. "His injuries could be grave."

Nya and Lloyd were too stunned to move, Jay and Zane's eyes began to fill with tears. Kai was about to kneel down and see how badly he was hurt, when Cole's groaned softly and his eyes snapped open.

He gave a quick, slightly disoriented, glance around him at the circle of staring people.

"You guys have to know that what you are doing right now is pretty creepy," Cole said weekly with a smile.

Kai bust into a relieved chuckle and everyone joined in.

"Are you hurt Cole?" Nya asked.

"No more than what you see," Cole teased as he accepted Jay's hand to help him up.

"But you were shot with a canon," Zane pointed out, "how-"

Now that Jay was over his shock, his pent up emotions burst through. "You were shot with a canon? How the heck did you survive that?!" he demanded.

Zane's eyes suddenly flashed understanding, "That's right, you were at your true potential. Your elemental powers nearly renders you indestructible as rock itself."

Together the ninja, samurai, and their teacher, headed slowly for the Destiny's Bounty.

Kai fell behind to help support Cole as he limped slowly along and saw Zane lightly touch Cole's arm to get his attention.

"I know that your true potential is how you escaped serious injury, but what, might I ask, made you fall unconscious?" Zane asked.

"As you can probably tell by my appearance," Cole gestured to his torn muddy clothing and disheveled form, "I have had a pretty rough few days with hardly any food at all and that cannon ball was the last straw. Believe it or not, that really hurt. So to answer your question I think I passed out more from exhaustion and pain than any serious injury. Don't tell anyone I told you that though," Cole said in a mock threatening manner, "It could ruin my reputation."

"My lips are sealed," Zane replied with a smile, catching the teasing tone of voice.

"Mine aren't," Kai joked, trying to stifle a chuckle.

**~x~X~x~**

"Let me try and help those bruises Cole," Nya said offered gently after Cole had finished his fourth helping of supper.

Cole nodded permission and Nya went to work. Kai sat across from Cole, surrounded on all sides by his ninja family. A family comprised of orphans, runaways, and, in Lloyd's case, abandonment, but to Kai they were perfect.

While Nya was tending Cole and everyone else was chatting about the day's adventure, he unwrapped the bandages on his hand and part of his wrist, to see that it was nearly completely healed, only a faint scar was left.

Pretty soon this whole adventure and ordeal would be little more than a memory. There was still the threat of Garmadon, who had destroyed their temporary truce, and the final battle, but for now, Kai was content just to be with his family. He glanced at Sensei. His wise teacher kept so much hidden inside. He wondered if his maser still had regrets about Kudzu and many other things that had happened. 'I could hardly live with one regret, how can Sensei live with so many and still be, well, Sensei?' he wondered. Perhaps it had something to do with acceptance or perhaps it had something to do with wisdom, he could not make up his mind. He hoped Cole would not long be troubled by what had happened to him, he was almost sure he wouldn't for he was acting like his normal self- for this Kai was glad.

"Oh! Cole!" Nya exclaimed remembering something important, "I have a welcome back present for you. Jay, Zane and I got together to make you cake."

Cole's face lit up with pleasure, and a huge smile spread across it. His brown eyes were huge and puppy like with excitement. "Cake?" he repeated happily.

"Napoleon cake, actually," Zane put in, knowing it was Cole's favorite.

"We made it while we were waiting to meet Kudzu," Jay added, "thought it would make you feel better when you got back."

"Well it worked," Cole sighed as Lloyd went to fetch it. "So Lloyd," Cole asked with a mischievous grin on his face when the green clad ninja returned, "while Kai was saving my backside and the others were making me cake, what exactly were you doing?"

"I was well… hiding from my father actually," Lloyd started apologetically not realizing Cole was teasing him until he had finished his first sentence, "But," he added finally realizing Cole was pulling his leg, "I made you a gift while I was in hiding, I made you this fork," he said, handing Cole the implement he had just retrieved from the kitchen drawer.

"Oh you did?" Cole queried, feigning surprise, "I am so honored."

"Well you should be. That is a genuine handcrafted fork that forged myself in our bedroom. "

"And I suppose the _Made in Ninjago_ insignia on the handle is like your pen name or artist's signature then."

"Yup, that's right," Lloyd said with a dorky smile. "As you plainly can see, _Made in Ninjago_ is actually an anagram for Lloyd. Wait," he paused looking like he was trying to remember something, "does it really say that on the handle?"

"No," Cole laughed and the others joined him. He was in the middle of contentedly munching on his large piece of cake when Nya looked up.

"Cole," she asked suddenly, "something just occurred to me. Does the rest of you happen to look as beat up as your face?"

Cole merely grinned in answer.

"Why didn't you mention that sooner when I still had my healing supplies out?"

"Forgot," he mumbled though a half filled mouth.

"How do you forget something like that?" Nya demanded annoyed.

"You mentioned cake, that's how," Kai pointed out with a chuckle.

"Oh very funny Kai," Cole said with a disapproving stare.

Jay smiled as he went to go turn on some music and bring out some drinks, "Well since we won and we have nothing to do tomorrow we might as well celebrate," he said suggestively.

**~x~X~x~**

Sensei sighed and could not contain a silent chuckle as he looked around the galley at his apprentices. It was about three in the morning and the battle worn ninja had slowly fallen asleep, one by one, in the middle of their festivities. Cole had been the first to go and that was no surprise to Sensei, his adventure had completely exhausted him. He was sitting slumped in his chair his head resting on the table. Lloyd had draped himself across three chairs and had kicked both Jay and Zane off of theirs. He had a rather dorky contented expression on his face.

Jay was laying spread eagle under the table holding a cup like it was a teddy bear. Zane still had his legs on the chair Lloyd had stolen, but his back was resting against the wooden planks of the ship's deck. Sensei smiled as he learned a new fact, apparently nindorids could drool. Kai was curled up on the seat of his chair, as if he were a dog or cat, but he was bigger than the seat of the chair, even curled as he was, and so he looked to be precariously perched half his body hanging off. Nya, surprisingly, was sleeping while sitting straight-backed in a very lady like manner.

He loved them like family and though he tried hard not show it, he was often amused by their antics. They had grown a lot since they had first met and they still had more to learn and he was happy to be their mentor. He realized too late that his chuckle had escaped a bit louder than he had intended, for one of his students stirred. He turned his head towards the motion to see Cole's chestnut colored eyes riveted curiously on his own. Sensei recognizing the look, waited for the inevitable question Cole obviously had in mind to descend.

"Sensei?" Cole tried in a slightly sleepy voice. When Sensei posed no objection Cole continued. "I was wondering, how did you ever want to have another apprentice if your first was such a failure? Weren't you afraid that the rest of us could turn out just as bad?"

"Odd query for the middle of the night," Sensei replied in a half attempt to divert the question. His student rested his chin on his arms that lay folded across the table and waited patiently for an answer. Sensei glanced at the honest yet curious expression on his face and sighed. He found the subject of Kudzu to be highly distasteful but he felt that Cole deserved and answer especially after what had just happened to him.

"I knew it was my duty to find and train the four ninja for the sake of Ninjago's survival. I suppose it was a bit worrisome at first but as soon as I found you I knew my previous failure would not happen again; you four were very different, and by that time, so was I. One can only ever learn from mistakes. I know that you ninja will never turn out like Kudzu and that in its self is some consolation to me, almost like redemption. So to answer your question I took on more students out of duty, but also out of a desire for redemption, a chance to prove I could do it right this time without failing. But, truth be told, it was mostly due to you and your brothers that I did not fail this time."

"Please tell me where Kudzu made his mistake, so I can be sure to not," Cole said drowsily as he started to fall back to sleep.

"He made his mistake when he let his regard for himself and his desire for power overshadow his care for others," Sensei replied.

Cole nodded once before he fell back to sleep, this time his face falling into a plate of food.

Sensei's own eyes were growing heavy and he was at the verge of slumber when there was a loud thump. Nya had finally relaxed enough to let her body slip from its ridged form and she fell of her chair, the movement instantly awakening her. She took one look at the sleeping ninja and then smiled.

"This is perfect blackmail material, I have got to get a picture of this," she told Sensei, gesturing at the sleeping ninja with an almost evil smile.

"Yes you had better," Sensei chucked.

_***THE END***_

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Thank You all so much for taking the time to read this! I am truly honoured to have faithful readers like you guys!

I hope you all found this story an enjoyable distraction. I am almost sad to end it. I had lots of fun writing that. Oh well I shall just have to start writing another one :D. I wish you all the best of summers. Until next time! God bless!

~Kazi

**QUESTION:**

**If there was another Elemental Weapon, what type of medieval weapon would it be and what element would it control? **

**_~ATGTJ~_**


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